cloying
6
8.2
- adjective
- /ˈklɔɪɪŋ/
- The cake was so cloying that I could barely finish a single slice.
- cloying smell
- cloying scent
- cloying perfume
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Watch on YouTubeHer coyness grows cloying after a while.
- Her coyness grows cloying after a while.
- I think that's probably why it all started being a cloying, ambitious, ruthless attention seeker.
- And it's become so common and so cloying, it's almost enough to make you want to swear off fun forever.
- It's kind of yummy and fun, but by about the fourth hour of the party, having that chocolate fountain's a bit cloying, sticky, and annoying, and you're looking for real food.
- So not like cloying sweet sour sauce, but a good balance of acidity coming from the the ghosts, right?
Examples
-
Her cloying compliments made me uncomfortable instead of flattered.
-
The cloying scent of burning incense blew into their faces.
Fiction book (1994) -
And it's become so common and so cloying, it's almost enough to make you want to swear off fun forever.
-
Old Fred had always seemed kind of creepy, a little too cloying.
Blog text (11) -
At its most cloying, it can be a gimmick.
Blog text (13) -
The concoction was raw cane rum with lime juice and a cloying amount of sugar.
Fiction book (1993) -
I found it to be far too cloying and was put off by the dominance of the candy-like cinnamon flavor.
Blog text (8) -
Rich without being heavy or cloying, it's like a liquid dessert—a very healthy one, for sure.
Blog text (17) -
The entire group entered the embalming room, which was redolent with the cloying smell of a sickly-sweet deodorant.
Fiction book (1999) -
It's kind of yummy and fun, but by about the fourth hour of the party, having that chocolate fountain's a bit cloying, sticky, and annoying, and you're looking for real food.
Synonyms
147
4.5
Having strong warm feelings about people or things from the past, often too emotional
82
4.6
Feels too sentimental and silly, like a movie or card
80
5.8
Not original and trying to be touching but it feels silly
31
4.3
Showing too much emotion in a way that seems silly or fake
25
7.0
Too emotional in a way that feels silly or fake
13
8.2
Showing fake feeling and too much emotion
8
8.0
Too emotional in a way that seems silly or not sincere
7
7.0
Showing too much emotion in a way that feels silly
4
3.7
Too sweet in taste or feeling, often sounding not sincere
3
7.9
Being too sweet or emotional in a way that seems false
2
5.8
Too emotional and sentimental in a way that seems silly
2
9.4
Showing feelings that are not real and too sweet
2
8.7
Too emotional in a way that feels false or silly
1
8.1
Too sweet or emotional in a way that feels false
1
7.9
Too emotional in a way that feels silly or fake
1
4.9
Too sentimental and not sincere
1
9.4
Too cute in a silly or fake way
1
3.9
Too sweet in taste or too emotional in style
1
7.6
Too emotional and sweet in a way that feels fake
1
5.4
Overly sentimental and emotional in a way that seems false
1
6.8
Being too emotional in a cheap, false way
1
8.9
Being very emotional in a way that feels fake
1
9.9
Too sentimental in a way that feels fake or silly
1
7.5
Showing strong, simple feelings in a way that seems fake
1
9.9
Showing too much love in a silly, naive way
1
8.4
A little silly and too sentimental, feeling fake
1
3.7
Having too much sugar in taste or feeling too emotional
1
6.3
Too sweet and sentimental in tone or style
1
8.3
Too sweet and emotional so it feels false
Antonyms
How Excessive
Surface Forms
Morphology
Etymology
Cloying comes from the old verb cloy, which meant 'to fill up' or 'to sicken' someone with too much sweetness. So, if something is cloying it is so sweet or sentimental that it becomes unpleasant, like eating too much candy.