moist

[moist]

adjective, moist·er, moist·est.

moderately or slightly wet; damp.

(of the eyes) tearful.

accompanied by or connected with liquid or moisture.

(of the air) having high humidity.

Origin of moist

1325–75; Middle English moiste < Middle French; connected with Latin mūcidus mucid

Related formsmoist·ful, adjectivemoist·less, adjectivemoist·ly, adverbmoist·ness, nouno·ver·moist, adjectivesem·i·moist, adjective

Can be confuseddamp moist (see synonym study at damp)

Synonyms for moist

1. dank.

Synonym study

1. See damp.

Antonyms for moist

1, 2. dry.

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

Related Words for moister

muggy, watery, rainy, soggy, damp, humid, clammy, dank, drippy, oozy, teary, dewy, dripping, drizzly, irriguous

Examples from the Web for moister

Contemporary Examples of moister

All weather is now born into an environment that is warmer and moister because of man-made greenhouse-gas pollution.
Earth Day: Discussing the Coming Climate Crisis With Heidi Cullen
Dominique Browning
April 22, 2012
All weather is under the influence of climate change now because all weather is being born into a warmer, moister environment.
The Year of Billion-Dollar Weather
Heidi Cullen
September 1, 2011

Historical Examples of moister

It had been dry, and the worms had crawled away to moister places.
The Book of Saints and Friendly Beasts
Abbie Farwell Brown
They are obliged to do so because they walk more, and because of their moister climate.
The Galaxy, May, 1877
Various
If the climate had been moister and cooler, the date could not have flourished at Jericho.
Climatic Changes
Ellsworth Huntington
If a moister product is preferred, omit the lemon-juice and rind.
Candy-Making Revolutionized
Mary Elizabeth Hall
The former is more suited to the moister soils and wherever there is danger of root-rot, and the latter to the drier soils.
Manual of American Grape-Growing
U. P. Hedrick

British Dictionary definitions for moister

moist

adjective

slightly damp or wet

saturated with or suggestive of moisture

Derived Formsmoistly, adverbmoistness, noun

Word Origin for moist

C14: from Old French, ultimately related to Latin mūcidus musty, from mūcus mucus

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 moister

moist

adj.

late 14c., "moist, wet; well-irrigated," from Old French moiste "damp, wet, soaked" (13c., Modern French moite), from Vulgar Latin *muscidus "moldy," also "wet," from Latin mucidus "slimy, moldy, musty," from mucus "slime" (see mucus). Alternative etymology [Diez] is from Latin musteus "fresh, green, new," literally "like new wine," from musteum "new wine" (see must (n.1)). If this wasn't the source, it influenced the form of the other word in Old French. Related: Moistly; moistness.