saccharine
Americanadjective
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of the nature of or resembling that of sugar.
a powdery substance with a saccharine taste.
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containing or yielding sugar.
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very sweet to the taste; sugary.
a saccharine dessert.
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cloyingly agreeable or ingratiating.
a saccharine personality.
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exaggeratedly sweet or sentimental.
a saccharine smile; a saccharine song of undying love.
adjective
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excessively sweet; sugary
a saccharine smile
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of, relating to, of the nature of, or containing sugar or saccharin
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
Etymology
Origin of saccharine
Explanation
You might be tempted to turn the radio dial when you hear a love song that is saccharine, meaning that it’s too sweet and sentimental to bear. The adjective saccharine comes from the Middle Latin word for sugar. Saccharine is a type of sugar substitute that you might sprinkle on your cereal or berries to sweeten them without the calories of real sugar. The word is used to describe something so sweet that it’s annoying — like a very sentimental song or a tear-jerking commercial.
Vocabulary lists containing saccharine
Sickly Sweet Treats: Sappy and Insincere Valentine Words
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For Grilled Cheese Day, Vocab with a Twist
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Pie Chart: Dessert Words
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Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
He went on to urge graduates not to let fear rob them of personal agency—a fine, saccharine message.
From The Wall Street Journal • May 20, 2026
On the surface, her waltz-time ballad, Alice, seems to be a saccharine tale of love and devotion.
From BBC • May 8, 2026
Stories about friendships between animals must walk a fine line between the sweet and the saccharine.
From The Wall Street Journal • Mar. 20, 2026
Now the late-night animation channel has a new offering: “Haha, You Clowns,” which is much in the same vein of saccharine sincerity mixed with awkward absurdity.
From Salon • Dec. 26, 2025
As we drive out of town, the sky is the saccharine blue of a baby blanket, filled with puffy cottonball clouds.
From "Orphan Train" by Christina Baker Kline
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
