ooze

Meanings

1. 1verbintransitive

   To flow out slowly through a small opening or from a surface.

   Grammar: No object; often followed by out, from, or through.

   Patterns

   • ooze from something
   • ooze out
   • ooze through something

   Sap oozed from the broken branch.

   Mud oozed through the cracks in the wall.

   Blood oozed slowly from the cut.

2. 2verbtransitive

   To give off a liquid or thick substance slowly.

   Grammar: Takes an object: the wound oozed blood; compare blood oozed from the wound.

   Patterns

   • ooze blood or pus
   • ooze confidence
   • ooze charm

   The infected cut oozed clear fluid.

   The fruit oozed juice when pressed.

   After the rain, the field oozed water at every step.

3. 3verbintransitivefigurative

   To show a quality so strongly that it seems to spread from you.

   Grammar: Figurative; usually followed by a quality such as confidence, charm, or menace.

   Patterns

   • ooze confidence
   • ooze charm
   • ooze menace

   She oozed confidence during the interview.

   The villain oozed menace in every scene.

   He oozed charm without seeming to try.

4. 4noununcountable

   Soft, wet mud or slime, especially at the bottom of a river, lake, or swamp.

   Grammar: No plural; it is a mass noun for soft wet sediment.

   Patterns

   • river ooze
   • thick ooze
   • sink into ooze

   The boat stuck fast in the river ooze.

   His boots sank into the gray ooze.

   Divers disturbed the lake ooze and visibility dropped.

Word forms

Common combinations

ooze confidence

The young speaker seemed to ooze confidence.

ooze from a wound

Clear fluid began to ooze from the wound.

thick ooze

The path crossed a bed of thick ooze.

ooze through cracks

Water oozed through cracks in the basement wall.

Synonyms and how they differ

seep

Suggests slow leaking through pores or cracks; ooze often implies thicker liquid or slime.

leak

Broader for escaping liquid, often accidental; ooze is slower and thicker.

trickle

A thin stream flowing gently; ooze is thicker and less directed.

exude

Formal for giving off liquid or a quality; ooze can be physical or figurative.

Opposites

Word family

oozy adjective

Soft, wet, and slightly sticky.

oozing noun

The slow escape of liquid or the showing of a quality.

Commonly confused: ooze or ooze and oozed? ooze or ooze vs odd?

Practice

Make it your own

Write a sentence using “ooze”, then check it and compare it with the examples above.

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