mealy

[mee-lee]

SEE MORE SYNONYMS FOR mealy ON THESAURUS.COM

adjective, meal·i·er, meal·i·est.

having the qualities of meal; powdery; soft, dry, and crumbly: mealy potatoes; a mealy stone.

of or containing meal; farinaceous: baked fish with a mealy crust.

covered with or as if with meal or powder: flowers mealy with their pollen.

flecked as if with meal; spotty: horses with mealy hides.

pale; sallow: a mealy complexion.

mealy-mouthed.

Origin of mealy

First recorded in 1525–35; meal² + -y¹

Related formsmeal·i·ness, noun

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2019

Examples from the Web for mealy

Contemporary Examples of mealy

That tape will prove far more persuasive than any expedient and mealy mouthed evasions.
How Obama Will Cash In on Paul Ryan: Medicare, Taxes, Education & More
Robert Shrum
August 13, 2012
Third worst is the mealy apple, all too common in the coming season.
What to Eat
Cookstr.com
September 15, 2009

Historical Examples of mealy

If it is but potatoes and salt, let the salt be ground fine, and the potatoes white and mealy.
Culture and Cooking
Catherine Owen
The name did not fit him; was too mealy; not debonair enough.
Gigolo
Edna Ferber
The "Mealy Sweet" was not of much account; it was too dry, but the Harveys were excellent.
When Life Was Young
C. A. Stephens
A baked potato, eaten as soon as done, is sweet, dry and mealy.
Health on the Farm
H. F. Harris
They will not be mealy if they lie soaking in the water without boiling.
The American Housewife
Anonymous

British Dictionary definitions for mealy

mealy

adjective mealier or mealiest

resembling meal; powdery

containing or consisting of meal or grain

sprinkled or covered with meal or similar granules

(esp of horses) spotted; mottled

pale in complexion

short for mealy-mouthed

Derived Formsmealiness, noun

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Word Origin and History for mealy

adj.

"resembling or consisting of meal," 1530s, from meal (n.2) + -y (2). Related: Mealiness.