Meaning & use
bluesy
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Meaning
adjectivecomparableinformalmusic
Having the sound or feel of blues music, with bent notes, a slow rhythm and a sad or soulful tone.
Grammar: Used before a noun or after a linking verb: a bluesy riff, the song sounds bluesy.
Patterns
- a bluesy sound
- sound bluesy
She sang in a low, bluesy voice that filled the small club.
The band added a bluesy guitar solo to the end of the song.
His piano playing is jazzy at times and bluesy at others.
Word forms
| comparative | bluesier |
|---|---|
| superlative | bluesiest |
Common combinations
- bluesy guitar
- The bluesy guitar gave the track a gritty edge.
- bluesy voice
- His bluesy voice suited the slow ballad.
- bluesy rock
- The group plays bluesy rock with a lot of energy.
- a bluesy feel
- The tune has a bluesy feel even though it is in a major key.
- sound bluesy
- Those bent notes make the melody sound bluesy.
Synonyms and how they differ
- soulful
- Soulful stresses deep feeling and need not relate to blues; bluesy points to a particular musical style.
- jazzy
- Jazzy suggests lively, improvised music, while bluesy suggests a slower, sadder, more earthy sound.
- melancholy
- Melancholy describes a sad mood in general; bluesy describes music with a blues character.
Word family
- blues noun
- a style of slow, sad music that began in the American South
- bluesman noun
- a man who plays or sings the blues
- bluesiness noun
- the quality of sounding like blues music
Commonly confused: bluesy or bluish?
bluesy vs bluish
Bluish means slightly blue in colour; bluesy is about music.
Practice
The singer's slow, gravelly delivery gave the ballad a ____ feel.
Choose one answer.
Bluesy describes the sound of blues music. Bluish refers to colour, which is the tempting wrong choice here.
Make it your own
Write a sentence using “bluesy”, then check it and compare it with the examples above.