ashier; ashiest
1
: covered with or containing ashes
ashy smoke
ashy residue
ashy soil
the ashy remains of the burned building
… the forest opened up into a giant burn scar, with the blackened skeletons of trees stretching down an ashy hillside.—
Morgan McFall-Johnsen
Morgan McFall-Johnsen2
a
: suggestive of or resembling ashes (as in color)
ashy grays
an ashy smell/taste
She wore her hair down in long ashy blonde waves that reached her hips.—Alyssa K. Davis
Alyssa K. Davis
especially
: very pale (as from fright or illness) : ashen
Symptoms that clinicians should advise their patients to look out for include slowed breathing and skin turning ashy or blue. —Maya Yang
Maya Yang
b
African American English
: of or relating to the grayish or whitish appearance of very dry skin
—used especially to describe this condition in people with a skin pigmentation that is darker than what is typically considered white (see white entry 1 sense 2a)
Ashy skin is caused by a lack of moisture, which leaves your skin dehydrated. It can appear on essentially any part of your skin. It's also common for the skin on your arms, legs, and face to become dehydrated and ashy.—Eleesha Lockett
Eleesha LockettVaseline has long been a staple in Black medicine cabinets, healing everything from chapped lips to ashy elbows.—Angela Johnson
Angela JohnsonExcessively cleaning my hands could result in dry, cracked skin, but I've been able to prevent them from becoming chapped and ashy with my arsenal of moisturizing hand creams and balms.—Jennifer Ford
Jennifer FordExamples of ashy in a Sentence
paramedics knew she was in shock because she was ashy and shaking
Recent Examples on the Web
The skin might also turn purple or blue in people with lighter skin tones or be gray or ashy in people with darker skin tones
Vomiting or making gurgling noises.
—Nicole Villalpando, Austin American Statesman, 2 July 2025
Editor’s tip: For those with two-toned or naturally darker lips, finding a liner that shows up without looking ashy is key, and Fenty Beauty’s Coal Blooded gets it right.
—Jailynn Taylor, Allure, 24 Apr. 2025
Satellite imagery shows six deep holes in the ground around Fordo, and ashy debris over much of the site.
—Geoff Brumfiel, NPR, 22 June 2025
From the east, everything looked blue — ashy, cool-toned silhouettes of what still stood.
—Loren Elliott, New York Times, 10 Jan. 2025
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Nicole Villalpando, Austin American Statesman, 2 July 2025
Editor’s tip: For those with two-toned or naturally darker lips, finding a liner that shows up without looking ashy is key, and Fenty Beauty’s Coal Blooded gets it right.
—Jailynn Taylor, Allure, 24 Apr. 2025
Satellite imagery shows six deep holes in the ground around Fordo, and ashy debris over much of the site.
—Geoff Brumfiel, NPR, 22 June 2025
From the east, everything looked blue — ashy, cool-toned silhouettes of what still stood.
—Loren Elliott, New York Times, 10 Jan. 2025
See All Example Sentences for ashy
Cite this Entry
“Ashy.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/ashy. Accessed 18 Jul. 2025.
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