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cloying

cloying

3 8.2
Too sweet or emotional in a way that makes you feel sick
  • adjective
  • /ˈklɔɪɪŋ/
translation icon : empalagoso
  • The cake was so cloying that I could barely finish a single slice.
  • cloying smell
  • cloying scent
  • cloying perfume

Her coyness grows cloying after a while.

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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

sentimental
vscloying
165 4.5

Having strong warm feelings about people or things from the past, often too emotional

is milder and more general, not causing real discomfort or disgust
corny
vscloying
  • Informal
81 5.8

Not original and trying to be touching but it feels silly

can become sickening when sentiment is pushed to extreme, causing disgust
cheesy
vscloying
  • Informal
56 4.6

Feels too sentimental and silly, like a movie or card

leans toward provoking disgust when the sweetness becomes overwhelming or fake
mushy
vscloying
  • Informal
27 4.3

Showing too much emotion in a way that seems silly or fake

goes further to provoke discomfort or disgust instead of soft sentiment
sappy
vscloying
  • Offensive
23 7.0

Too emotional in a way that feels silly or fake

creates discomfort and nausea rather than simply sounding silly or light
hokey
vscloying
  • Informal
23 8.2

Showing fake feeling and too much emotion

provokes discomfort when the artificial sentiment becomes sickeningly sweet or false
maudlin
vscloying
8 8.0

Too emotional in a way that seems silly or not sincere

often produces deeper discomfort or pity rather than gentle nostalgia
gushy
vscloying
6 7.0

Showing too much emotion in a way that feels silly

tends to be more sickeningly sweet and causes negative reaction
saccharine
vscloying
5 7.9

Being too sweet or emotional in a way that seems false

is more intense, causing real disgust rather than mild sweetness
syrupy
vscloying
3 3.7

Too sweet in taste or feeling, often sounding not sincere

causes nausea or disgust rather than merely a sweet pleasant feeling
mawkish
vscloying
2 9.4

Showing feelings that are not real and too sweet

tends toward causing disgust or nausea instead of simple exaggeration
schmaltzy
vscloying
  • Informal
2 8.7

Too emotional in a way that feels false or silly

is more likely to produce real discomfort or aversion than mere excess
drippy
vscloying
  • Offensive
1 7.9

Too emotional in a way that feels silly or fake

creates deeper discomfort or disgust rather than simple embarrassment
soppy
vscloying
  • UK
1 5.8

Too emotional and sentimental in a way that seems silly

typically implies an unpleasant, sickening sweetness rather than mere foolishness
treacly
vscloying
1 8.1

Too sweet or emotional in a way that feels false

leans more toward producing strong discomfort or disgust in the reader
slushy
vscloying
1 5.4

Overly sentimental and emotional in a way that seems false

is stronger by producing discomfort or disgust rather than merely shallow feeling
oversweet
vscloying
1 3.9

Too sweet in taste or too emotional in style

pushes sweetness into discomfort or disgust instead of simple excess
bathetic
vscloying
  • Literature
1 9.9

Too sentimental in a way that feels fake or silly

moves further into producing discomfort or scorn rather than gentle feeling
gloppy
vscloying
  • Informal
8.3

Too sweet and emotional so it feels false

causes discomfort or disgust rather than only mild unpleasantness
goopy
vscloying
  • Informal
7.6

Too emotional and sweet in a way that feels fake

is mainly about producing disgust rather than gentle, harmless sweetness
overly sugary
vscloying
3.7

Having too much sugar in taste or feeling too emotional

produces a more intense, sickening sweetness leading to real disgust
marshmallowy
vscloying
  • Informal
6.3

Too sweet and sentimental in tone or style

is harsher, causing discomfort or disgust rather than gentle softness
too soppy
vscloying
  • UK
7.5

Showing strong, simple feelings in a way that seems fake

is defined by producing discomfort or disgust rather than light sentiment
schmalzy
vscloying
  • Informal
8.9

Being very emotional in a way that feels fake

leans more toward making readers feel disgust or deep annoyance
soupy
vscloying
  • Literature
6.8

Being too emotional in a cheap, false way

pushes sentiment so far that it causes discomfort rather than mild feeling
slobbery
vscloying
  • Informal
4.9

Too sentimental and not sincere

is more likely to provoke disgust or strong negative emotion than drama
a bit hokey
vscloying
  • Informal
8.4

A little silly and too sentimental, feeling fake

is more intense, causing real discomfort rather than slight corny charm
cutesy-poo
vscloying
  • Informal
9.4

Too cute in a silly or fake way

is more likely to cause discomfort or nausea when sweetness is overdone
spoony
vscloying
  • Offensive
9.9

Showing too much love in a silly, naive way

often leads to embarrassment and sometimes to deep discomfort or disgust

Antonyms

276 6.0

Not easy to notice or understand because it is small

81 1.0

Having a sharp, unpleasant taste that is not sweet

savory
  • US
23 4.1

Tastes salty or spicy rather than sweet

How Excessive

cloying
3 8.2
rich
73 3.0
sweet
808 1.0
pleasant
314 1.0

Surface Forms

cloying positive

Morphology

cloying = cloy (transparent) = cloy + ing

Formed by the regular adjectival use of the verb 'cloy' + '-ing'; the meaning is directly derived from the verb's sense.

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.