Cloy
To cause someone to feel disgust or weariness from an excess of sweetness, richness, or sentiment; to weary by overabundance.
verbCloy
To cause someone to feel disgust or weariness from an excess of sweetness, richness, or sentiment; to weary by overabundance.
verbImagine This
Imagine biting into a cake whose layers are so rich and sugary that after a few bites your mouth and senses feel overwhelmed; the sweetness cloys your palate and you no longer enjoy the dessert.
Sounds Like
kloy (rhymes with 'ploy' or 'boy')
Looks Like
Ends with -oy; visually resembles other short, monosyllabic words like 'joy' or 'ploy'.
Remember This
Cloy often describes something that becomes excessively sweet, rich, or sentimental to the point of turning you off; the related adjective is cloying.
Other Forms
Connect With
sicken, nauseate, weary, surfeit, overly sentimental, fatigue
Note
Use cloy to describe something that overdoes sweetness, richness, or sentiment, causing discomfort or fatigue. Do not confuse with milder flavors or pleasant sweetness.
Study Deeper
- The dessert quickly cloyed the guests with its overwhelming sweetness.
- The film's constant melodrama began to cloy the audience.
From Middle English cloyen, of uncertain origin; likely related to Old French cloïer/cloyer meaning to clog, stuff, or fill, reflecting the sense of excessive fullness that becomes unpleasant.
Mnemonic: Cloy = Close Your Appetite. When something is cloying, it is so sweet or sentimental that it makes you want to close your appetite and stop wanting more.
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