cloying

American  

[kloi-ing] / ˈklɔɪ ɪŋ /

adjective

1. causing or tending to cause disgust or aversion through excess.

   a perfume of cloying sweetness.

2. overly ingratiating or sentimental.

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cloying British  

/ ˈklɔɪɪŋ /

adjective

1. initially pleasurable or sweet but wearying in excess

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Other Word Forms

• cloyingly adverb
• uncloying adjective

Etymology

Origin of cloying

First recorded in 1540–50; cloy + -ing ²

Explanation

If you’re a cynic who favors dark, edgy humor and thrillers, you probably find romantic comedies with their hearts, flowers, and sappy happy endings cloying — so sweet and sentimental that they make you want to retch. Whether you’re talking about dessert wine or love notes, cloying means sickeningly sweet. It’s how folks who love espresso feel about Frappuccino. Cloying comes in handy to describe things that are too sweet both literally. "Don’t worry about him trying to kiss you; your cloying perfume is sure to keep him at arm’s length." Or figuratively. "Your incessant flattery and cloying way of hanging on my every word was charming at first, but now I wish you’d go away."

Example Sentences

Watching “Reminders of Him” and shedding a few tears during the inevitable scene where Kenna finally meets her daughter, I was reminded of just how cloying the experience of watching “Hamnet” was.

From Salon • Mar. 19, 2026

Not cloying, not milky, not trying to be liked by everyone at the bake sale.

From Salon • Mar. 5, 2026

In its all-too-human view of life, this is, entertainingly, whatever the opposite of a cloying graduation speech is.

From Los Angeles Times • Feb. 20, 2026

The agua fresca was more cloying than refreshing.

From Los Angeles Times • Feb. 19, 2026

Eddies cloying and fulsome speeches got on Mrs. Cleaver’s nerves.

From "Woe Is I" by Patricia T. O'Conner

Related Words

• gooey
• saccharine
• sappy
• sentimental
• sugary
• syrupy