mealy

American  

[mee-lee] / ˈmi li /

adjective

mealier, mealiest

1. having the qualities of meal; powdery; soft, dry, and crumbly.

   mealy potatoes; a mealy stone.

2. of or containing meal; farinaceous.

   baked fish with a mealy crust.

3. covered with or as if with meal or powder.

   flowers mealy with their pollen.

4. flecked as if with meal; spotty.

   horses with mealy hides.

5. pale; sallow.

   a mealy complexion.

6. mealy-mouthed.

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mealy British  

/ ˈmiːlɪ /

adjective

1. resembling meal; powdery

2. containing or consisting of meal or grain

3. sprinkled or covered with meal or similar granules

4. (esp of horses) spotted; mottled

5. pale in complexion

6. short for mealy-mouthed

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Other Word Forms

• mealiness
  noun

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Etymology

Origin of mealy

First recorded in 1525–35; meal ² + -y ¹

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Explanation

Mealy things contain or resemble flour or any other grain that's been ground into a powdery substance (i.e., meal). Good cornbread is moist and cake-like, instead of dry and mealy. You'll usually find the adjective mealy describing food that doesn't taste great, whether it's an undercooked, mealy sauce or an overripe, mealy apple. In both of these examples, the food tastes dry and bland, and has a crumbly feeling on the tongue. Other mealy things might look like meal, like a mealy sandbox or the mealy bark of a tree. The Old English source of mealy is melu, "meal or flour."

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

mealy mealier mealiest

The female version is Julia Roberts’ “Runaway Bride,” so mealy about her own feelings that she ditches four grooms at the altar.

From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 24, 2025

Tomatoes tend to get more mealy in the fridge than when stored at room temperature, but if they are getting too soft, refrigerate to keep them a few more days.

From Washington Times ● Jul. 27, 2023

These slow-moving pests are covered with a mealy wax and tend to cluster in large numbers to feed, appearing as cottony masses in leaf axils and other protected areas.

From Seattle Times ● Dec. 14, 2022

We come together again over the same-size chips — “airport” fries, Lacey says, as he inspects their mealy white centers.

From Washington Post ● Nov. 25, 2022

The apple was dry and mealy, but Davos made himself take another bite.

From "A Dance with Dragons" by George R. R. Martin

For a mealier dough, the fat should be mixed in until it’s the size of peas and smaller.

From Slate ● Jun. 7, 2018

“Oh, she’s always rude and entitled, so we shouldn’t mind it when she acts rude and entitled” is perhaps the mealiest of justifications for spinelessness available.

From Slate ● Sep. 6, 2018

I saw six kinds of apples, including Granny Smith; Gala; Fuji; and the mealiest, most inappropriately named apple: Red Delicious, one bred for beauty, not taste.

From Slate ● Jan. 11, 2016

This mode of preparing potatoes, although very pretty and novel, must never be attempted with any but the whitest and mealiest kind.

From Culture and Cooking Art in the Kitchen by Catherine Owen

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