mealy
Americanadjective
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having the qualities of meal; powdery; soft, dry, and crumbly.
mealy potatoes; a mealy stone.
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of or containing meal; farinaceous.
baked fish with a mealy crust.
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covered with or as if with meal or powder.
flowers mealy with their pollen.
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flecked as if with meal; spotty.
horses with mealy hides.
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pale; sallow.
a mealy complexion.
adjective
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resembling meal; powdery
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containing or consisting of meal or grain
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sprinkled or covered with meal or similar granules
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(esp of horses) spotted; mottled
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pale in complexion
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short for mealy-mouthed
Other Word Forms
Etymology
Origin of mealy
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."
Vocabulary lists containing mealy
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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.
The Royals were led in scoring by Matthew Mealy, who finished with 18 points.
From Seattle Times • Nov. 26, 2022
“Thousands of people were in the streets in front of the Hotel Theresa cheering the Cuban delegation,” activist Bill Epton told Mealy.
From Slate • Aug. 30, 2016
It features the violinists Robert Mealy and Julie Andrijeski, along with a small period ensemble, in performances of Buxtehude, Kerll, Couperin and other scores that were available to Bach through various libraries.
From New York Times • Apr. 21, 2016
Marianne Mealy, 28, of Foxboro, went looking for directions in a nursing home and found a friend of her grandfather.
From Washington Times • Nov. 15, 2015
Occasionally he picked out a familiar voice, and once he heard Mealy Jones call his name.
From The Court of Boyville by Lowell, Orson
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.
