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westerly

westerly

4 3.7
Coming from the west
  • adjective
  • /ˈwɛstərli/
translation icon : del oeste
  • The forecast predicts a strong westerly wind that will bring cooler temperatures.
  • westerly wind

Examples

  • Look, according to the almanac, the weather on the 12th will be seasonably cool with a light westerly breeze.

  • A consequent high frequency of westerly winds circulated over northwestern Europe.

    Academic text (1991)
  • The shallow depression in the west of these islands... is likely to move slowly in a westerly direction.

  • The unusual thing about Sandy was that it took a sharp westerly turn (for whatever reason).

    Blog text (14)
  • Since 1790, the location has moved in a westerly, then a more southerly pattern.

    Blog text (15)
  • Ivory jerked a thumb in a general westerly direction.

    Fiction book (1993)
  • A cool day in Los Angeles, with 15 mile-an-hour westerly winds and light, scattered clouds at 3,000 feet.

  • The weather forecast for the Western Cape tomorrow is cloudy with occasional fog patches, clearing later with moderate to fresh westerly winds...

  • Even in westerly Malibu the sun has moved on, leaving the vast and tireless sea to heave itself blindly upon the shore.

  • At Ilfracombe, in 1910, the storm depression occurred some hours before the wave struck, but a westerly gale continued to blow onshore.

    Academic text (2009)

Synonyms

western
vswesterly
107 1.0

Located in or coming from the west

emphasizes movement direction rather than static location or origin
westbound
vswesterly
9 2.8

Going toward the west

also covers movement coming from the west in some uses
westward
vswesterly
4 2.7

Moving toward the west

can mean movement coming from the west as well as toward it

Antonyms

1 3.3

Coming from the east

Compounds

prevailing westerly
  • Specialized
1 6.1

A wind that usually blows from the west in regions with mild weather

Surface Forms

westerly positive
westerlier comparative
westerliest superlative

Morphology

westerly = west (transparent) = west + erly

The suffix '-erly' denotes direction or origin, making the meaning clear as 'from the west'.

Etymology

The word westerly comes from the simple word west and the ending -erly, which shows direction or place, so it means 'from or toward the west'.