cloy
/klɔi/
Học thuậtThân thiện
Definition
- Verb:
- To cause disgust or annoyance through excessive sweetness, richness, or pleasure that was initially enjoyable.
- To supply or feed to the point of excess, leading to a feeling of being overly full or satiated.
Usage
- Transitive verb: Typically used with a direct object (something that causes the cloying sensation).
- The excessive sweetness of the dessert began to cloy my palate.
- Constant flattery can quickly cloy a person.
- Intransitive verb: Can be used to describe the state of becoming cloyed.
- After the third piece of cake, the taste started to cloy.
Examples
- The filmmaker's sentimental style, charming at first, eventually cloyed the audience.
- She worried that the lavish praise would cloy and seem insincere.
- The perfume was so strong and sweet it cloyed the air in the small room.
Advanced Usage
- Cloying (Adjective): Describing something that is excessively sweet, sentimental, or ingratiating to the point of being unpleasant.
- The cloying sentimentality of the movie made it difficult to watch.
- He spoke in a cloying tone of voice.
Variants and Related Words
- Cloyingly (Adverb): In a cloying manner.
- The dessert was cloyingly sweet.
- Satiate (Verb): To satisfy fully or to excess. While similar, 'satiate' is more neutral, whereas 'cloy' implies a negative, unpleasant excess.
- Surfeit (Noun/Verb): An excessive amount; to supply or feed to excess. This is a key concept in the definition of 'cloy'.
Synonyms
- Pall: To become dull or tiresome.
- Sicken: To cause to feel disgust or nausea (stronger than cloy).
- Glut: To feed or supply to excess.
- Jade: To make dull or weary through excess.
Antonyms
- Whet: To sharpen or stimulate (e.g., an appetite).
- Tantalize: To tease or torment with the sight or promise of something unobtainable, thus stimulating desire.
Notes
- Connotation: 'Cloy' carries a distinctly negative connotation. It describes the tipping point where something pleasing becomes unpleasant due to overabundance.
- Common Contexts: Often used in relation to taste (food, drink), smells, emotions (sentimentality), and behavior (excessive flattery or affection).
Verb
- cause surfeit through excess though initially pleasing
- Too much spicy food cloyed his appetite
- supply or feed to surfeit