Definition

Adjective 1. Having a soft, thick, and somewhat sticky consistency similar to uncooked dough: This describes a texture that is not firm or fully set, often due to inadequate cooking, baking, or leavening. 2. Pale, soft, and flabby in appearance, often describing a person's complexion or physique: This figurative usage describes a lack of firmness, color, or vitality, resembling the soft pallor of raw dough.

Usage and Examples

• The bread was still doughy in the middle because I took it out of the oven too soon.
• After being undercooked, the cookies were unpleasantly doughy.
• He had a doughy, pale complexion from spending too much time indoors.

Advanced Usage and Nuances

• "doughy mess": A common collocation emphasizing a failed culinary result that is unappealingly soft and formless.
  • Without enough baking powder, the muffins turned into a doughy mess.
• The word often carries a negative connotation when describing food, implying it is undercooked or poorly made. When describing a person's appearance, it is almost always unflattering.

Variants and Related Words

• Dough (noun): A thick, malleable mixture of flour and liquid, used in baking.
• Doughiness (noun): The state or quality of being doughy.
  • The doughiness of the cake indicated it needed more time in the oven.

Synonyms

• Soggy: Wet and soft in an unpleasant way.
• Undercooked: Not cooked enough.
• Pasty: (Especially for complexion) Pale and unhealthy in appearance.
• Flabby: Soft, loose, and fleshy.

Antonyms

• Firm
• Crisp
• Well-done
• Golden-brown

Adjective

1. having the consistency of dough because of insufficient leavening or improper cooking; it's a doughy mess"
   • the cake fell