| English Dictionary |
SWEET
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| IPA (US): |  |
Dictionary entry overview: What does Sweet mean?
• SWEET (noun)
The noun SWEET has 5 senses:
1. English phonetician; one of the founders of modern phonetics (1845-1912)
2. a dish served as the last course of a meal
3. a food rich in sugar
4. the taste experience when sugar dissolves in the mouth
5. the property of tasting as if it contains sugar
Familiarity information: SWEET used as a noun is common.
• SWEET (adjective)
The adjective SWEET has 10 senses:
1. having or denoting the characteristic taste of sugar
2. having a sweet nature befitting an angel or cherub
3. pleasing to the ear
4. pleasing to the senses
5. pleasing to the mind or feeling
6. having a natural fragrance
7. (used of wines) having a high residual sugar content
8. not containing or composed of salt water
9. not soured or preserved
10. with sweetening added
Familiarity information: SWEET used as an adjective is familiar.
• SWEET (adverb)
The adverb SWEET has 1 sense:
1. in an affectionate or loving manner ('sweet' is sometimes a poetic or informal variant of 'sweetly')
Familiarity information: SWEET used as an adverb is very rare.
Dictionary entry details
Sense 1
Meaning:
English phonetician; one of the founders of modern phonetics (1845-1912)
Classified under:
Nouns denoting people
Synonyms:
Henry Sweet; Sweet
Instance hypernyms:
phonetician (a specialist in phonetics)
Sense 2
Meaning:
A dish served as the last course of a meal
Classified under:
Nouns denoting foods and drinks
Synonyms:
Hypernyms ("sweet" is a kind of...):
course (part of a meal served at one time)
Hyponyms (each of the following is a kind of "sweet"):
mold; mould (a dish or dessert that is formed in or on a mold)
sabayon; zabaglione (light foamy custard-like dessert served hot or chilled)
tiramisu (an Italian dessert consisting of layers of sponge cake soaked with coffee and brandy or liqueur layered with mascarpone cheese and topped with grated chocolate)
sillabub; syllabub (sweetened cream beaten with wine or liquor)
pud; pudding ((British) the dessert course of a meal ('pud' is used informally))
pudding (any of various soft sweet desserts thickened usually with flour and baked or boiled or steamed)
whip (a dessert made of sugar and stiffly beaten egg whites or cream and usually flavored with fruit)
peach melba (ice cream and peaches with a liqueur)
pavlova (a dessert consisting of a meringue base or cup filled with fruit and whipped cream)
mousse (a rich, frothy, creamy dessert made with whipped egg whites and heavy cream)
junket (dessert made of sweetened milk coagulated with rennet)
frozen dessert (any of various desserts prepared by freezing)
flan (open pastry filled with fruit or custard)
dumpling (dessert made by baking fruit wrapped in pastry)
compote; fruit compote (dessert of stewed or baked fruit)
charlotte (a mold lined with cake or crumbs and filled with fruit or whipped cream or custard)
blancmange (sweet almond-flavored milk pudding thickened with gelatin or cornstarch; usually molded)
baked Alaska (cake covered with ice cream and meringue browned quickly in an oven)
ambrosia (fruit dessert made of oranges and bananas with shredded coconut)
Sense 3
Meaning:
A food rich in sugar
Classified under:
Nouns denoting foods and drinks
Synonyms:
confection; sweet
Hypernyms ("sweet" is a kind of...):
dainty; delicacy; goody; kickshaw; treat (something considered choice to eat)
Hyponyms (each of the following is a kind of "sweet"):
maraschino; maraschino cherry (cherry preserved in true or imitation maraschino liqueur)
nonpareil (colored beads of sugar used as a topping on e.g. candies and cookies)
comfit (candy containing a fruit or nut)
center; centre (the sweet central portion of a piece of candy that is enclosed in chocolate or some other covering)
candied apple; candy apple; caramel apple; taffy apple; toffee apple (an apple that is covered with a candy-like substance (usually caramelized sugar))
chewing gum; gum (a preparation (usually made of sweetened chicle) for chewing)
hardbake (a British sweet made with molasses and butter and almonds)
candy; confect (a rich sweet made of flavored sugar and often combined with fruit or nuts)
sweetmeat (a sweetened delicacy (as a preserve or pastry))
confiture (preserved or candied fruit)
confectionery (candy and other sweets considered collectively)
Sense 4
Meaning:
The taste experience when sugar dissolves in the mouth
Classified under:
Nouns denoting cognitive processes and contents
Synonyms:
sugariness; sweet; sweetness
Hypernyms ("sweet" is a kind of...):
gustatory perception; gustatory sensation; taste; taste perception; taste sensation (the sensation that results when taste buds in the tongue and throat convey information about the chemical composition of a soluble stimulus)
Sense 5
Meaning:
The property of tasting as if it contains sugar
Classified under:
Nouns denoting attributes of people and objects
Synonyms:
sweet; sweetness
Hypernyms ("sweet" is a kind of...):
taste property (a property appreciated via the sense of taste)
Hyponyms (each of the following is a kind of "sweet"):
sugariness (the sweetness of sugar)
saccharinity (the excessive sweetness of saccharin)
| Declension: comparative and superlative |
Superlative: sweetest
Sense 1
Meaning:
Having or denoting the characteristic taste of sugar
Similar:
cloying; saccharine; syrupy; treacly (overly sweet)
sweetish (somewhat sweet)
Also:
sugary (containing sugar)
sweet ((used of wines) having a high residual sugar content)
tasty (pleasing to the sense of taste)
Antonym:
sour (having a sharp biting taste)
Derivation:
sweetness (the property of tasting as if it contains sugar)
sweetness (the taste experience when sugar dissolves in the mouth)
Sense 2
Meaning:
Having a sweet nature befitting an angel or cherub
Synonyms:
angelic; angelical; cherubic; seraphic; sweet
Context example:
a sweet disposition
Similar:
lovable; loveable (having characteristics that attract love or affection)
Derivation:
sweetness (the quality of giving pleasure)
Sense 3
Meaning:
Pleasing to the ear
Synonyms:
dulcet; honeyed; mellifluous; mellisonant; sweet
Context example:
the dulcet tones of the cello
Similar:
melodic; melodious; musical (containing or constituting or characterized by pleasing melody)
Derivation:
sweetness (the quality of giving pleasure)
Sense 4
Meaning:
Pleasing to the senses
Context example:
the sweet face of a child
Similar:
pleasing (giving pleasure and satisfaction)
Derivation:
sweetness (the quality of giving pleasure)
Sense 5
Meaning:
Pleasing to the mind or feeling
Synonyms:
gratifying; sweet
Context example:
sweet revenge
Similar:
pleasing (giving pleasure and satisfaction)
Derivation:
sweetness (the quality of giving pleasure)
Sense 6
Meaning:
Having a natural fragrance
Synonyms:
odoriferous; odorous; perfumed; scented; sweet; sweet-scented; sweet-smelling
Context example:
scented flowers
Similar:
fragrant (pleasant-smelling)
Derivation:
sweetness (a pleasingly sweet olfactory property)
Sense 7
Meaning:
(used of wines) having a high residual sugar content
Context example:
sweet dessert wines
Also:
sugary (containing sugar)
sweet (having or denoting the characteristic taste of sugar)
Antonym:
dry ((of liquor) having a low residual sugar content because of decomposition of sugar during fermentation)
Derivation:
sweetness (the property of tasting as if it contains sugar)
Sense 8
Meaning:
Not containing or composed of salt water
Synonyms:
fresh; sweet
Context example:
fresh water
Sense 9
Meaning:
Not soured or preserved
Synonyms:
fresh; sweet; unfermented
Context example:
sweet milk
Similar:
unsoured (not having turned bad)
Sense 10
Meaning:
With sweetening added
Synonyms:
sugared; sweet; sweet-flavored; sweetened
Similar:
sugary (containing sugar)
Derivation:
sweetness (the property of tasting as if it contains sugar)
Sense 1
Meaning:
In an affectionate or loving manner ('sweet' is sometimes a poetic or informal variant of 'sweetly')
Synonyms:
sweet; sweetly
Context example:
talking sweet to each other
Domain category:
poesy; poetry; verse (literature in metrical form)
Domain usage:
colloquialism (a colloquial expression; characteristic of spoken or written communication that seeks to imitate informal speech)
Context examples
She played a simple air, and her voice accompanied it in sweet accents, but unlike the wondrous strain of the stranger.
(Frankenstein, by Mary Wollstonecraft Shelley)
Why did I not spend these sweet days of liberty with her?
(Jane Eyre, by Charlotte Brontë)
"I do not want to be released. I love him, and love is very sweet. I am going to marry him—of course, if you will let me."
(Martin Eden, by Jack London)
The toils of the business were over, the sweets began.
(Persuasion, by Jane Austen)
Friends will play a big, sweet part of the month and make you happy.
(AstrologyZone.com, by Susan Miller)
“The old sweet song,” said Holmes.
(His Last Bow, by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle)
My sweetest Catherine, how have you been this long age?
(Northanger Abbey, by Jane Austen)
Oh! it was sweet beyond expression.
(Mansfield Park, by Jane Austen)
It is not a tongue for men of sweet birth and delicate upbringing.
(The White Company, by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle)
“You just jump up, like a sweet lad, and get me an apple, to wet my pipe like.”
(Treasure Island, by Robert Louis Stevenson)
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