cloy

American  

[kloi] / klɔɪ /

verb (used with object)

1. to weary by an excess of food, sweetness, pleasure, etc.; surfeit; satiate.

   Synonyms:

   bore, sate, glut

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verb (used without object)

1. to become uninteresting or distasteful through overabundance.

   A diet of cake and candy soon cloys.

cloy British  

/ klɔɪ /

verb

1. to make weary or cause weariness through an excess of something initially pleasurable or sweet

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Other Word Forms

• overcloy
  verb (used with object)
• uncloyed
  adjective

Etymology

Origin of cloy

1350–1400; aphetic variant of Middle English acloyen < Middle French enclo ( y ) er < Late Latin inclāvāre to nail in, equivalent to in- in- ² + -clāvāre, verbal derivative of clāvus nail

Explanation

To cloy is to overwhelm someone with an excess of something that initially seemed sweet or pleasant. One piece of your favorite candy is pleasant, but the taste starts to cloy if you have too many more pieces. When someone constantly showers you with compliments, it can start to cloy, making the attention feel insincere and overbearing. The verb cloy applies to anything that becomes a bit too much to be enjoyable, from sweet treats to overpowering perfumes to too much affection. Understanding how things can cloy helps you recognize that even the nicest things can lose their charm when overdone.

Example Sentences

It has placed you Beyond the Cloy of Fulsome Praise: Beyond the Sting of Cruel Blame: the One, may not help You the Other, cannot hurt You!

From A Spray of Kentucky Pine by Sherley, George Douglass

Age cannot wither her, nor custom stale Her infinite variety; other women Cloy th' appetites they feed; but she makes hungry Where most she satisfies.

From Handy Dictionary of Poetical Quotations by Various

Related Words

• nauseate