Definition

1. Adjective:
   • Having a texture or appearance resembling meal or coarse flour: Describes something that is dry, soft, and crumbly, similar to the feel of cornmeal or finely ground grain.
   • Covered with or containing a powdery substance: Describes a surface that appears to be dusted with a fine, dry powder.
   • Pale or pallid in complexion: (Less common) Describes a face or skin that is unnaturally pale or ashen.

Usage Examples

• Describing texture:
  • The baked apple had a pleasant, mealy texture.
  • Avoid potatoes that feel mealy when you squeeze them; they are often old.
• Describing a powdery coating:
  • The plums were covered in a mealy, natural bloom.
  • The insect's wings left a mealy residue on my fingers.
• Describing complexion (archaic/less common):
  • His face was mealy with fear after the ordeal.

Advanced Usage

• "Mealy-mouthed": (Idiomatic, derived from 'mealy') Describes someone who is not direct or honest in speech; who speaks in a vague, flattering, or evasive way.
  • The politician gave a mealy-mouthed answer that avoided the real issue.
  • Don't be so mealy-mouthed; just tell me what you really think.

Variants and Related Words

• Meal (n): Edible grains coarsely ground, e.g., cornmeal.
• Mealiness (n): The quality or state of being mealy.
  • The mealiness of the fruit indicated it was overripe.

Synonyms

• Granular: Having a texture consisting of small grains or particles.
• Farinaceous: Having a mealy or starchy texture.
• Pallid: (For the complexion meaning) Pale, lacking color or intensity.

Antonyms

• Smooth: Having an even and regular surface; free from perceptible projections, lumps, or indentations.
• Juicy: Full of juice; succulent (opposite of the dry, crumbly texture).
• Rosy: (For the complexion meaning) Having a healthy pink or reddish color.

Related Idioms

• "Mealy-mouthed": As detailed in 'Advanced Usage', this is the primary idiom derived from the word. It criticizes indirect or insincere speech.

Adjective

1. composed of or covered with particles resembling meal in texture or consistency
   • granular sugar
   • the photographs were grainy and indistinct
   • it left a mealy residue
2. containing meal or made of meal