humid

Imagine walking outside and feeling the air wrap around you like a warm, damp blanket. That is the kind of feeling the word humid describes. It is used when the air contains a lot of water vapor, so the atmosphere feels moist and heavy. We often connect humid weather with hot summer days, but air can be humid in other seasons too.

Humid air changes the way we experience temperature. When there is already a lot of moisture in the air, sweat does not evaporate as easily, so the body has a harder time cooling down. Because of that, a humid day can feel hotter and more uncomfortable than a dry day at the same temperature. People often describe humid weather as sticky, close, or muggy.

You will often hear humid used for places near the sea, tropical forests, greenhouses, or rooms filled with steam after a shower. It can also describe cold air if that air holds a lot of moisture. In everyday English, the word usually suggests not just moisture, but also a certain heaviness in the air that people can feel on their skin. So when someone says the day is humid, they mean the air feels moist, thick, and not very refreshing.