Meaning & use
treacly
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Meanings
adjectivecomparabledisapproving
Too sweet or sentimental, in a way that feels artificial and a little sickly.
Grammar: Used before a noun or after a verb, nearly always as criticism: treacly music, or the ending was treacly.
The film's treacly ending left me rolling my eyes.
She sang a treacly love song about angels and moonlight.
Reviewers found the novel too treacly to enjoy.
adjectivecomparableBritish
Thick, dark and sticky like treacle, or tasting of it.
Grammar: Describes food or liquids that are heavy and syrupy, mainly in British English.
The pudding was rich and treacly.
He poured a treacly sauce over the sponge cake.
The tea was strong and treacly with sugar.
Word forms
| comparative | treaclier |
|---|---|
| superlative | treacliest |
Common combinations
- treacly sentiment
- The card was full of treacly sentiment.
- treacly voice
- He spoke in a treacly voice meant to charm her.
- treacly song
- A treacly song played over the closing scene.
- treacly sweet
- The wine was treacly sweet.
- treacly pudding
- We finished with a warm treacly pudding.
Synonyms and how they differ
- saccharine
- It is a more formal, literary way to describe false sweetness, whereas treacly adds a feeling of stickiness.
- syrupy
- It is a close match, and is slightly more neutral when used for texture.
- sentimental
- It simply means ruled by feelings, and does not always imply criticism as treacly does.
- cloying
- It stresses that the sweetness becomes unpleasant from too much of it.
Opposites
Word family
- treacle noun
- a thick, dark syrup used in baking
- treacliness noun
- the quality of being treacly
Commonly confused: treacly or treachery?
treacly vs treachery
Treachery means betrayal and has no connection to sweetness, though it looks similar.
Practice
The critic called the closing scene ___, complaining that it was far too sentimental.
Choose one answer.
Treacly describes sickly, over-sentimental material. Terse means brief, tepid means unenthusiastic, and tenacious means persistent, none of which fit.
Make it your own
Write a sentence using “treacly”, then check it and compare it with the examples above.