misty
/ˈmɪsti/adjective
misty is spelled M-I-S-T-Y: 5 letters and 2 syllables. It appears 2.5 times per million words in written English, the 17,342nd most frequent word form (wordfreq, 2021 data, counting Misty, the name). As an adjective, misty means “Covered in mist; foggy” (English Wiktionary, September 2026).
How many letters and syllables are in misty?
| Letters | 5: M-I-S-T-Y |
|---|---|
| Syllables | 2 (from its American pronunciation) |
| In writing | 2.5 times per million words; the 17,342nd most frequent word form |
| Wrong spellings searched | none measured in search |
Sources: letters and syllables from the English Wiktionary's hyphenation or pronunciation and the CMU Pronouncing Dictionary; written frequency: wordfreq 3.1 (a 2021 snapshot of Wikipedia, subtitles, news, books, web text and social media).
How common is misty?
Misty appears 2.5 times per million words in written English, the 17,342nd most frequent word form in the list. The list counts every capitalisation together, so this includes Misty, the name.
Source: written frequency: wordfreq 3.1 (a 2021 snapshot of Wikipedia, subtitles, news, books, web text and social media).
How do you pronounce misty?
- /ˈmɪsti/
Misty has 2 syllables (counted from its American pronunciation in the CMU Pronouncing Dictionary).
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract). Recordings: LL-Q1860_(eng)-Vealhurl-misty.wav, Wikimedia Commons (author and licence on each file's page).
Forms of misty
- mistier comparative
- mistiest superlative
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
What does misty mean?
The meanings the English Wiktionary records, quoted as written there (source below).
adjective
- 1
Covered in mist; foggy.
It's very misty this morning; I can't see a thing!
- 2
Dim; vague; obscure.
a misty memory of his childhood
- 3
With tears in the eyes; dewy-eyed.
Her eyes grew misty the night her long-time friend passed away.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
Misty in Spanish, French, German and Portuguese
| Language | Words |
|---|---|
| French | brumeux |
| Portuguese | nublado, enevoado , marejado |
| Spanish | con neblina, neblinoso, emboriado , lloroso, sentimental |
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract). Translations are Wiktionary's, by sense; a linked word has its own PlainSpell page.
Where does misty come from?
From Middle English misty, mysty, misti, from Old English mistiġ (“misty, dark”), from Proto-West Germanic *mistig (“misty”), equivalent to mist + -y. Cognate with Scots misty, mistie (“misty”), West Frisian mistich (“misty, foggy”), Dutch mistig (“misty, foggy”), German Low German mistig (“foggy”).
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).