Definition

1. Adjective:
   • Cloyingly sweet: Describes a taste, flavor, or smell that is excessively and unpleasantly sweet, to the point of being sickening or overwhelming.
   • Excessively saccharine: Can describe something non-physical, such as words, music, or behavior, that is overly sentimental or sweet in a way that feels insincere or unpleasant.

Usage Examples

• Adjective:
  • Ly sinh tố này ngọt sắc, không thể uống nổi. (This smoothie is cloyingly sweet; it's undrinkable.)
  • Mùi nước hoa đó ngọt sắc quá. (That perfume smell is cloyingly sweet.)
  • Lời khen của anh ta nghe ngọt sắc và giả tạo. (His compliments sound cloyingly sweet and fake.)

Advanced Usage

• The term is often used in literary or descriptive critiques to convey an intense, negative reaction to an overabundance of sweetness, whether literal or figurative.

Variants and Related Words

• Ngọt lịm (adj): Very sweet, but often with a positive or neutral connotation of being pleasantly sweet.
• Ngọt ngào (adj): Sweet, sweet-talking; usually describes pleasant sweetness or affectionate words, contrasting with the negative ngọt sắc.

Synonyms

• Cloying: Excessively sweet or sentimental.
• Sickly sweet: So sweet as to cause discomfort or nausea.
• Saccharine: Excessively sweet or sentimental, often insincerely so.

Related Idioms

• Ngọt như mía lùi: As sweet as roasted sugarcane; an idiom for something very sweet, typically positive, unlike ngọt sắc.
• Ngọt đến tê đầu lưỡi: So sweet it makes the tip of the tongue tingle; can sometimes imply an excessive sweetness nearing ngọt sắc.

1. Cloyingly sweet