snowy

snowy — adjective

1. having snow on the ground or falling from the sky at a particular time or place

1.adjectiveA2
Definition

having snow on the ground or falling from the sky at a particular time or place

Example

The children often played outside during the snowy winter.

collocation: snowy winter / snowy day / snowy weather

Tomás cleared a path through the snowy driveway before breakfast.

Common collocations
  • snowy day
  • snowy weather
  • snowy winter
  • snowy landscape
  • snowy mountains
  • snowy peaks
  • snowy roads
  • snowy morning
  • snowy afternoon
  • snowy night
  • snowy ground
  • snowy fields
Synonyms
  • snow-covered

    more literal — describes a surface visibly covered in snow, not the weather

  • wintry

    broader — describes cold, stormy, winter-like conditions, not necessarily with snow

  • frosty

    different — describes frost (ice crystals), not snow coverage

Antonyms
  • snow-free

    having no snow at all

  • balmy

    pleasantly warm, opposite of snowy or wintry

Grammar Patterns

snowy + noun

be + snowy

Common Mistakes

The ground is snow.
The ground is snowy.
'snow' is a noun; 'snowy' is the adjective meaning covered with snow.
The weather is snow.
It is a snowy day today.
use 'snowy' as an adjective, not 'snow' as a noun, to describe conditions.

2. of a bright white color that looks like fresh snow

2.adjectiveB1
Definition

of a bright white color that looks like fresh snow

Example

The old cat's fur had turned completely snowy with age.

Camille wore a snowy dress for the wedding ceremony.

collocation: snowy dress / snowy fabric / snowy white

Common collocations
  • snowy white
  • snowy hair
  • snowy beard
  • snowy feathers
  • snowy fur
  • snowy dress
  • snowy veil
  • snowy fabric
Synonyms
  • snow-white

    more common compound adjective for artificial or manufactured whiteness

  • white

    generic, much broader; lacks the pure/bright connotation

  • milky

    different — describes an opaque, warm white, like milk

Antonyms
  • black

    the opposite end of the brightness spectrum

  • dark

    low in brightness, opposite of snowy white

Grammar Patterns

snowy + noun

be + snowy

Usage Note

Used in descriptive or literary contexts to emphasize purity and brightness. For everyday descriptions of whiteness, 'snow-white' is more common as a compound adjective.

Common Mistakes

Her teeth were snowy.
Her teeth were snow-white.
'snowy' for teeth sounds unnatural; use 'snow-white' or 'pearly white' instead.
The wall paint is snowy.
The wall paint is snow-white.
for manufactured whiteness, 'snow-white' is more natural than 'snowy'.
Idioms

Snowy River

idiom

a river in southeastern Australia, about 447 kilometres long, that flows from the Snowy Mountains in New South Wales to the Pacific Ocean in Victoria

The Snowy River runs for over 440 kilometres from the mountains to the sea.

Tourists visit the Snowy River region for hiking and camping in the summer.

Word family

Synonym discussion

Sense: adjective/1

Snowy is the most general term for landscapes or weather where snow is present ('a snowy morning'). Snow-covered is more literal — it describes a surface you can see the snow on, but says nothing about the weather ('snow-covered fields'). Wintry is broader: it refers to cold, stormy winter conditions that may or may not involve snow ('a wintry wind'). Frosty is different again — it means covered with frost (ice crystals), not snow ('frosty windows'). For weather descriptions, use snowy for snowfall ('snowy afternoon') and wintry for general cold ('wintry day'). For visible snow on the ground, both snowy and snow-covered work, but snow-covered is more precise.

snowy ↗snow-coveredwintryfrosty

Common collocations

Nouns

Adverbs

Phrases

  • snowy white
  • snowy owl

Etymology

Old EnglishMiddle EnglishEnglish

The word 'snowy' comes from Old English 'snāwiġ', which was formed by combining 'snāw' (snow) with the adjective suffix '-iġ' (modern English '-y', meaning 'full of' or 'like'). So snowy has always meant 'full of snow' or 'resembling snow'. The spelling and pronunciation shifted through Middle English ('snowy', 'snawy') into the modern form.