ˈklamē, -mi adjective
( -er/-est )
Etymology: Middle English, probably from clammen, clemen to stick + -y — more at clam
1.
a.
(1) : moist and sticky
clammy flesh
a plant with a clammy stem
(2) : drearily sticky and wet
a clammy and intensely cold mist — Charles Dickens
b.
(1) : damp and cold
clammy air
: suffused or covered with a cool sticky dampness
a clammy uniform
(2) : unpleasantly sticky and cold
the clammy moisture of the Burma night — Ed Cunningham
2.
a.
(1) : lacking normal human warmth
clammy statistics
the clammy atmosphere of an institution
(2) : unnaturally or perversely cold : offish
that American captain was a bit on the clammy side — Bennett Cerf
b. : unpleasantly or uncomfortably sickly, furtive, or aberrant : unnatural
a rather clammy sense of humor
clammy fear that once held the country in its grip — H.H.Martin