cloyed; cloying; cloys
: to supply with an unwanted or distasteful excess usually of something originally pleasing
… Cordelia has been cloyed by her sisters' excessive protestations of affection …—
Rebecca West
Rebecca West
: to be or become insipid or distasteful usually through an excess of an originally pleasurable quality (such as sweetness)
… curious how the lemon keeps its bite when the sweet flavours have begun to cloy, and the crispness has departed.—Eric Korn
Eric KornExamples of cloy in a Sentence
Recent Examples on the Web
But coming on the heels of the parade of similar content that we’ve been subjected to for the past several years in the world of superhero films and shows, the device cloys.
—Michael O'Sullivan, Washington Post, 12 June 2023
But look out for An Irish Goodbye, the only English-language nominee, which is just cloying enough to win.
—Vulture, 10 Mar. 2023
The acidity is well balanced with the sweetness so as not to be cloying at all.
—Mike Desimone and Jeff Jenssen, Robb Report, 3 Mar. 2023
Too much of the former is more admired than loved, and too much of the latter can cloy.
—Tessa Watson, ELLE Decor, 22 Mar. 2023
Lengua gyutan, or beef tongue, soaked in a creamy mushroom gravy, seemed destined to cloy but turned out to be smooth, balanced, and savory.
—Jiayang Fan, The New Yorker, 2 Sep. 2022
But before such moments can cloy, Arbery usefully complicates his case.
—New York Times, 22 June 2022
That sweetness can cloy if it’s not suitably chilled and diluted, which is why almost everyone chooses to make it on the rocks.
—Jason O'Bryan, Robb Report, 16 Dec. 2021
The museum’s sacredness to many, including me, can cloy a little.
—Peter Schjeldahl, The New Yorker, 8 Feb. 2021
Michael O'Sullivan, Washington Post, 12 June 2023
But look out for An Irish Goodbye, the only English-language nominee, which is just cloying enough to win.
—Vulture, 10 Mar. 2023
The acidity is well balanced with the sweetness so as not to be cloying at all.
—Mike Desimone and Jeff Jenssen, Robb Report, 3 Mar. 2023
Too much of the former is more admired than loved, and too much of the latter can cloy.
—Tessa Watson, ELLE Decor, 22 Mar. 2023
Lengua gyutan, or beef tongue, soaked in a creamy mushroom gravy, seemed destined to cloy but turned out to be smooth, balanced, and savory.
—Jiayang Fan, The New Yorker, 2 Sep. 2022
But before such moments can cloy, Arbery usefully complicates his case.
—New York Times, 22 June 2022
That sweetness can cloy if it’s not suitably chilled and diluted, which is why almost everyone chooses to make it on the rocks.
—Jason O'Bryan, Robb Report, 16 Dec. 2021
The museum’s sacredness to many, including me, can cloy a little.
—Peter Schjeldahl, The New Yorker, 8 Feb. 2021
These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'cloy.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.
Dictionary Entries Near cloy
Cite this Entry
“Cloy.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/cloy. Accessed 19 Apr. 2024.
Copy CitationKids Definition
cloy
verb
: to supply with too much of something that was originally pleasing
cloyingly
adverb
-iŋ-lē
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