Art. hard and formal in outline, or lacking mellowness and warmth in color.
–verb (used with object)
28.
to make dry; free from moisture: to dry the dishes.
–verb (used without object)
29.
to become dry; lose moisture.
–noun
30.
a prohibitionist.
31.
a dry place, area, or region.
—Verb phrases
32.
dry out,
a.
to make or become completely dry.
b.
to undergo or cause to undergo detoxification from consumption of excessive amounts of alcohol.
33.
dry up,
a.
to make or become completely dry.
b.
to cease to exist; evaporate.
c.
Informal. to stop talking.
d.
(in acting) to forget one's lines or part.
—Idiom
34.
not dry behind the ears, immature; unsophisticated: Adult responsibilities were forced on him, although he was still not dry behind the ears.
[Origin: bef. 900; ME drie, OE drȳge; akin to D droog, G trocken; see drought]
—Related forms
dry·a·ble, adjective
dryly, adverb
dryness, noun
—Synonyms 1.Dry,arid both mean without moisture. Dry is the general word indicating absence of water or freedom from moisture: a dry well; dry clothes. Arid suggests great or intense dryness in a region or climate, esp. such as results in bareness or in barrenness: arid tracts of desert. 20. tedious, barren, boring, tiresome, jejune. 28.See evaporate.29. dehydrate.
Free from liquid or moisture: changed to dry clothes.
Having or characterized by little or no rain: a dry climate.
Marked by the absence of natural or normal moisture: a dry month.
Not under water: dry land.
Having all the water or liquid drained away, evaporated, or exhausted: a dry river.
No longer yielding liquid, especially milk: a dry cow.
Lacking a mucous or watery discharge: a dry cough.
Not shedding tears: dry sobs.
Needing or desiring drink; thirsty: a dry mouth.
No longer wet: The paint is dry.
Of or relating to solid rather than liquid substances or commodities: dry weight.
Not sweet as a result of the decomposition of sugar during fermentation. Used of wines.
Having a large proportion of strong liquor to other ingredients: a dry martini.
Eaten or served without butter, gravy, or other garnish: dry toast; dry meat.
Having no adornment or coloration; plain: the dry facts.
Devoid of bias or personal concern: presented a dry critique.
Lacking tenderness, warmth, or involvement; severe: The actor gave a dry reading of the lines.
Matter-of-fact or indifferent in manner: rattled off the facts in a dry mechanical tone.
Wearisome; dull: a dry lecture filled with trivial details.
Humorous or sarcastic in a shrewd, impersonal way: dry wit.
Prohibiting or opposed to the sale or consumption of alcoholic beverages: a dry county.
Unproductive of the expected results: a mind dry of new ideas.
Constructed without mortar or cement: dry masonry.
v.
dried (drīd), dry·ing, dries (drīz)
v.
tr.
To remove the moisture from; make dry: laundry dried by the sun.
To preserve (meat or other foods, for example) by extracting the moisture.
v.
intr.
To become dry: The sheets dried quickly in the sun.
n.
pl.drysInformal
A prohibitionist.
Phrasal Verb(s): dry out Informal
To undergo a cure for alcoholism.
dry up
To make or become unproductive, especially to do so gradually.
Informal To stop talking.
[Middle English drie, from Old English drȳge.]
dry'ly, dri'ly adv., dry'ness n.
Synonyms: These verbs mean to remove the moisture from: drying the dishes; added water to eggs that were dehydrated; a factory where coconut meat is shredded and desiccated; land parched by the sun. See Also Synonyms at sour.
Dry\, v. t. [imp. & p. p. Dried; p. pr. & vb. n. Drying.] [AS. drygan; cf. drugian to grow dry. See Dry, a.] To make dry; to free from water, or from moisture of any kind, and by any means; to exsiccate; as, to dry the eyes; to dry one's tears; the wind dries the earth; to dry a wet cloth; to dry hay. To dry up. (a) To scorch or parch with thirst; to deprive utterly of water; to consume. Their honorable men are famished, and their multitude dried up with thirst. -- Is. v. 13. The water of the sea, which formerly covered it, was in time exhaled and dried up by the sun. --Woodward. (b) To make to cease, as a stream of talk. Their sources of revenue were dried up. -- Jowett (Thucyd. ) To dry, or dry up, a cow, to cause a cow to cease secreting milk. --Tylor.
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