syrupy
Americanadjective
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having the appearance or quality of syrup; thick or sweet.
syrupy coffee.
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sentimental or saccharine; mawkish.
a syrupy manner; a syrupy poem.
adjective
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(of a liquid) thick or sweet
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cloyingly sentimental
a syrupy version of the Blue Danube
Etymology
Origin of syrupy
Explanation
Syrupy things are very, very sweet—probably a little too sweet! A syrupy dessert might make your teeth hurt. Things that are literally syrupy have the drippy, sticky sweetness of molasses or honey. If something is figuratively syrupy, it's so sentimental that it makes you cringe, like syrupy love songs or syrupy greeting cards. The adjective syrupy comes from syrup, "thick, sweet liquid," from the Arabic sharab, "beverage."
Vocabulary lists containing syrupy
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.
Syrupy aromas drift across the guarded compound of Bangladesh's only licensed distillery, a state-owned producer posting record profits in the Muslim-majority nation, where Islamists are staging a political comeback.
From Barron's • Nov. 12, 2025
Short answer: Syrupy oil fluffed into a semi-solid.
From Salon • Jul. 5, 2025
Syrupy strings and the Anita Kerr Singers helped the swooning follow-up “My Special Angel” cross over into the pop Top 10.
From Los Angeles Times • Dec. 13, 2022
Syrupy, aromatic blackberries and nutty manchego — made from the milk of the Manchega sheep — were made for each other.
From Salon • Jun. 30, 2022
Syrupy sweet, each word sounding like the melodies I remember from many years of yesterdays.
From "Like Vanessa" by Tami Charles
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.
