dry
45
4.6
- adjective
- /draɪ/
:
seco
- But she interrupted to say, in a voice as dry as autumn leaves, "Don't apologize for the wedding."
- dry humor
- dry wit
- a dry style
His way of speaking was harsh, dry, quick, peaceable.
- His way of speaking was harsh, dry, quick, peaceable.
- Her voice was not dry now, and her eyes flashed.
- It's not boring, it's not dry, and most of it is undiscovered.
- I'm not sure how dry he is but he is kind of dry.
- Client, he's autistic and he I think has the driest, funniest sense of humour.
- Now there's a difference between dry humor, bad humor, and good humor.
Examples
-
Back in the Philippines before the war, I had discovered Lew's dry sense of humor.
Fiction book (1994) -
"I don't think the piano bench will hold," he said in a dry voice, looking around the room.
Fiction book (1999) -
Forgive my dry British humor.
-
Word of that spread rather quickly," Morgan said with a dry sense of irony.
Fiction book (1999) -
"Jinx has a healthy cynicism about everything, coupled with a dry sense of humor."
Fiction book (1996) -
And they'll soon forget the tedious sermonizing of a few dry old men.
-
Although content-oriented teaching may connote somewhat clinical and dry instruction, it is just the opposite.
Academic text (1990) -
His dry wit often caught people off guard, making them laugh unexpectedly.
-
She wrote a dry commentary on the events, avoiding any emotional language.
-
Despite his serious demeanor, he had a remarkably dry sense of humor that many appreciated.
Synonyms
30
6.1
Dull and showing little energy
21
7.5
Showing dry, slightly mocking humor and not taking things seriously
19
3.6
Without energy or interest and making people feel bored
9
7.5
A way of speaking that shows no feeling, often to be funny
8
7.9
Ordinary and dull without imagination or excitement
2
7.4
Not interesting or lively and often boring
1
5.8
Having nothing special or interesting
1
6.3
Not interesting and without energy or life
Slightly quiet and serious in style, not showing much feeling
Not causing strong feelings or interest
Not bright in color and not very interesting
Antonyms
Idioms
Compounds
- Specialized
19
3.9
A very cold solid made from carbon dioxide used to keep things frozen and make white fog
- Specialized
4
6.1
A place where workers empty the water so they can build or fix a ship's bottom
- Specialized
1
5.1
A way of painting that uses very little paint to make a rough, scratchy texture
- Specialized
1
4.0
A small battery with a moist paste inside that gives power to devices like a flashlight
- Offensive
1
9.9
An attack in which someone hides and kills another person by surprise in a lonely place
- Specialized
A small source of electricity used in devices like radios or flashlights that has no liquid
- Archaic
A way to make photographs on glass plates with a thin light-sensitive layer
- Specialized
A print made by scratching a metal plate with a hard needle to make dark, soft lines
- Specialized
Dead skin and flesh that become dry and dark when blood flow stops, often in a toe or foot
- Specialized
Severe pain in the empty hole after a tooth is removed when the blood clot falls out
- Specialized
A small insect that lives in and eats dry wood not touching the ground
- Specialized
A portable structure that sinks so a ship can enter and then lifts it out for repair
- Specialized
A unit used in the United States to measure dry things like grain
How Dry
Surface Forms
Etymology
Dry for humor comes from the idea of being plain or 'without show', like a surface that is 'not wet'. So dry humor is subtle and said without strong feeling.