treacly

[tree-klee]

adjective

1. sentimental in a contrived or unrestrained way.

   The stories too often feature clichéd piffle and end with treacly flourishes.

2. British.,  resembling molasses mixed with corn syrup in taste, color, texture, etc..

   The chestnut honey has a sweet, treacly taste with an earthy, nutty aroma.

   We spent a delicious hour inhaling the treacly light of late afternoon.

Word History and Origins

Origin of treacly¹

treacl(e) + -y ¹ ( def. )

Example Sentences

Still, I muscled through many days of lessons on how to be a godly woman and treacly prayers read by Chris Pratt.

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But perhaps property values are just where the mind wanders when the story playing out is so treacly and stale.

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The days of treacly language about "pro-life" policies have given way to yelling about how "childless cat ladies" must be stopped.

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Frank‘s and Charley‘s very different definitions of what constitutes a friend offers an astringent alternative to our culture’s sometimes treacly, overly simplistic portrayal of the bond.

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Wielding a double-barreled shotgun in his review for The New York Times, the critic Stephen Holden dismissed Sparks’s book as “treacly” and called the film “a high-toned cinematic greeting card.”

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