🍇 A sweet spread 🍮 A soft dessert 🟣 A soft material 😒 Feeling jealous 🧊 To set

to jelly

1 6.1

To cause a liquid to become firm and form a soft gel

verb
/ˈdʒɛli/

: cuajar

He helped jelly the fruit salad so it would hold its shape nicely.

Examples

Is Norville really gonna jelly up the sidewalk?

The Hudsucker Proxy (1994)
Is he really gonna do it—is Norville really gonna jelly up the sidewalk?

Fiction book (1994)
The chef decided to jelly the mixture to create a perfect dessert.
After cooling, the fruit mixture will jelly and become firm.

Synonyms

to set

vsto jelly

125 3.8

To become firm, often by cooling

means specifically to cause or become gelatinous rather than any firming

to jell

vsto jelly

2 5.8

Change into a thick, firm jelly when it cools

is the broader verb for causing or becoming gelatinous in general

to gel

vsto jelly

Specialized

1 4.1

To change from a liquid to a thick jelly

covers the same change but in everyday, general wording

to gelatinize

vsto jelly

Specialized

1 7.6

To make something turn soft and jelly-like when heated

is the common term without the technical or domain focus

to jellify

vsto jelly

8.6

To turn into a thick soft mass that holds its shape

is the general verb meaning to cause or become gelatinous

Compounds

jelly bean

15 1.0

A small bean-shaped candy with a soft sweet center and a hard sugar shell

jelly doughnut

7 1.3

A soft round fried sweet bread filled with jam

grape jelly

5 1.0

A sweet spread made from grape juice and sugar

petroleum jelly

3 3.8

A soft, greasy substance used to protect skin and as a lubricant

royal jelly

Specialized

2 6.8

A creamy food made by worker bees and fed to bee larvae and the queen

jelly roll

1 3.5

A thin sponge cake spread with jam and rolled into a spiral

jelly-like

1 3.7

Soft and wobbly with a thick, partly solid feel

calf's-foot jelly

Archaic

1 9.9

A jelly made from boiled calves' feet used in traditional dishes

jelly roll

Jargon

1 4.2

A roll of cut cotton strips used for quilting

comb jelly

Specialized

8.8

A small transparent sea animal like a jellyfish that moves by beating eight rows of tiny hairs

crabapple jelly

3.4

A sweet, slightly tart jelly from crabapples for spreading on toast

apple jelly

1.1

A sweet clear spread made from apple juice for bread or cooking

mineral jelly

4.1

A soft, oily product you put on skin and on machine parts to make them move smoothly

glycerin jelly

Specialized

4.6

A soft clear substance used to hold and protect small samples on microscope slides

jelly egg

2.2

A small egg-shaped sweet made of soft jelly with a sugar coating often eaten at Easter

jelly fungus

Specialized

7.9

A soft, jelly-like growth on dead wood that some people eat

pork jelly

7.7

A cold savory jelly made from pig's feet and other pork parts that becomes firm when cooled

How Gelatinous

to solidify

55 4.4

to jelly

1 6.1

to congeal

11 6.6

to thicken

35 2.3

Surface Forms

jelly infinitive

jellied past

jellied past participle

jelling present participle

jellies third person singular

Etymology

Jelly as a verb comes from the noun and the root gel- meaning 'to set' or 'firm up', so to 'jelly' something is to make it turn from a liquid into a soft, set mass. This explains why we talk about mixtures 'jelling' as they cool and become firm.