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Humidity is the state of air when it’s full of water vapor.

Humidity is the noun form of the adjective humid, which is used to describe moist air—air that’s full of water vapor.

Humidity is most commonly used in reference to weather or the general climate of a place, especially when the temperature is hot.

Example: The humidity here in summertime is almost unbearable.

The first records of the word humidity come from the 1300s. It ultimately derives from the Latin verb (��)ū��(ŧ����), meaning “to be moist.”

Humidity does, indeed, boil down to moistness—it’s the moistness of the air around you. There are other words for this, like mugginess, but humidity is the most formal (and common) one. Humidity is almost always used to refer to the state of moist air that is also hot—it typically wouldn’t be used to refer to air that’s moist and cold (this is more likely to be referred to as dampness).

Meteorologists (weather scientists) measure humidity in a few different ways. You’ve probably heard them use the term relative humidity, which is the ratio of the actual amount of water vapor in the air (at a given temperature) to the maximum amount that the air could hold at that temperature. Relative humidity is expressed as a percentage—the higher the number, the higher the humidity. Tropical rainforests, for example, have a relative humidity of around 80 percent or higher most of the time. Absolute humidity, on the other hand, is the amount of water vapor that is present in a particular volume of air.

People tend to complain about heat and humidity. There’s a reason it’s uncomfortable. We use sweat to cool off, and humidity prevents evaporation, so when it’s humid out, we can’t cool off as well. This is what people mean when they say, “It’s not the heat—it’s the ��ܳ����徱�ٲ�.”

What are some other forms related to humidity?

• humid (adjective)

What are some synonyms for humidity?

• humidness
• mugginess
• dampness

What are some words that share a root or word element with humidity?��

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• humidor
• humor

What are some words that often get used in discussing humidity?

• heat
• weather
• climate
• air
• temperature
• moisture

Humidity is used by both meteorologists and laypeople. Most people find humidity uncomfortable, and people often complain about it.

Check on your friends in Florida the humidity down here is DESPICABLE 🥵

— motherducker (@houseandhens)

Right on cue with the "unofficial start to summer", we turn up the heat and humidity this week. Does this make you 😍 or 😞?

— Michelle Muscatello (@michmuscatello)

I know it’s not for everyone but I’m loving this heat and humidity right now 👍👍

— Kelly O'Connell (@kellymoconnell)

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Is humidity used correctly in the following sentence?

The humidity is making the air so dry.