cloying

American  

[kloi-ing] / ˈklɔɪ ɪŋ /

adjective

1. causing or tending to cause disgust or aversion through excess.

   a perfume of cloying sweetness.

2. overly ingratiating or sentimental.

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cloying British  

/ ˈklɔɪɪŋ /

adjective

1. initially pleasurable or sweet but wearying in excess

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Other Word Forms

• cloyingly adverb
• uncloying adjective

Etymology

Origin of cloying

First recorded in 1540–50; cloy + -ing ²

Example Sentences

In his pursuit of answers, Roher employs a cloying framework: his loving wife occasionally narrating as if this were a storybook and Roher the protagonist of a scary adventure.

From Los Angeles Times

Watching “Reminders of Him” and shedding a few tears during the inevitable scene where Kenna finally meets her daughter, I was reminded of just how cloying the experience of watching “Hamnet” was.

From Salon

Not cloying, not milky, not trying to be liked by everyone at the bake sale.

From Salon

In its all-too-human view of life, this is, entertainingly, whatever the opposite of a cloying graduation speech is.

From Los Angeles Times

Heartfelt without being cloying, this ad gets all the elements of its message of coming together right in ways that a similar ad from Spectrum couldn’t quite match.

From Los Angeles Times

Related Words

• gooey
• saccharine
• sappy
• sentimental
• sugary
• syrupy