verb (used with object)
1.
to weary by an excess of food, sweetness, pleasure, etc.; surfeit; satiate.
verb (used without object)
2.
to become uninteresting or distasteful through overabundance: A diet of cake and candy soon cloys.
Origin:
1350–1400; aphetic variant of Middle English acloyen < Middle French enclo(y)er < Late Latin inclāvāre to nail in, equivalent to in- in-2 + -clāvāre, verbal derivative of clāvus nail
1350–1400; aphetic variant of Middle English acloyen < Middle French enclo(y)er < Late Latin inclāvāre to nail in, equivalent to in- in-2 + -clāvāre, verbal derivative of clāvus nail
Related forms
o·ver·cloy, verb (used with object)
un·cloyed, adjective
Synonyms
1. glut, sate, bore.
1. glut, sate, bore.
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2013.
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Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2013.
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Collins
World English Dictionary
cloy (klɔɪ) ![[Click for IPA pronunciation guide]](http://static.sfdict.com/dictstatic/g/d/dictionary_questionbutton_default.gif) | |
| —vb | |
| to make weary or cause weariness through an excess of something initially pleasurable or sweet | |
| [C14 (originally: to nail, hence, to obstruct): from earlier acloyen, from Old French encloer, from Medieval Latin inclavāre, from Latin clāvāre to nail, from clāvus a nail] | |
Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 10th Edition
2009 © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins
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2009 © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins
Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009
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Etymonline
Word Origin & History
cloy
1530, aphetic of Anglo-Norm. acloyer, from O.Fr. enclouer "to fasten with a nail, hinder, cripple a horse by driving a nail into the hoof," from clou "a nail," from V.L. inclavare, from L. clavus "a nail" (see slot (2)). Meaning "to fill to loathing, surfeit" is first recorded 1530.
Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2010 Douglas Harper
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Example sentences
There's a bit of spice in there that keeps the cloy level down.
The technique is highly skilled, but the matter begins to cloy.
If you prefer it dark and bittersweet, this delicately flavored but sugary treat could cloy.
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