moist
/mɔɪst
/adjective
1Slightly wet: the moist, fertile soil...
- A dry, crumbly or even slightly cloddy surface with moist, fine soil at seeding depth gives the crop a good head start over the weeds.
- In late May, the young plants should be hardened off in a cold frame for a few days before planting in a sunny spot and a fertile, moist but well-drained soil.
- Potatoes are smothered in onions and garlic and the whole thing is slightly moist, yet oven-browned.
1.1(Of the eyes) wet with tears: her brother’s eyes became moist...
- Her eyes were moist with tears as she quickly exited the room, slamming the door behind her.
- But as he looked over at her, her eyes were moist and there were tears running down her cheeks.
- Zevon declined to offer any hints about the new songs, but he said fans should not anticipate material of moist eyes or long, distant stares.
Synonyms
tearful, teary, dewy-eyed, watery, misty
1.2(Of a climate) rainy: exposure to the Atlantic on the west gives rise to a cool, moist climate...
- Both leaf floras and paleoclimatic models imply that the Potomac Group climate was moist and subtropical.
- For example, a hot, moist climate might produce leaf form similar to a cooler, dry climate because heat exacerbates water stress.
- How does one grow regionally adapted beans for moist climates?
Synonyms
damp, dampish, steamy, humid, muggy, clammy, dank, moisture-laden, wet, wettish, rainy, drizzly, drizzling, dewy, dripping, soggy, sweaty, sticky
2 Medicine Marked by a fluid discharge.Although the lesion was slightly moist, no foul discharge or purulent drainage was present....
- If the total radiation dose to the skin is 40 Gy or greater, the erythema phase is followed by a moist desquamation phase.
- However, occlusive dressings should be avoided on moist lesions.
Derivatives
moistly
- The artist would have given him a moistly sensuous mouth, but this man's modest lip is all but covered by a warm brown beard, carefully clipped and combed.
- We finished off with a moistly chewy lemony yogurt cake and bowls of strawberries with cream.
- The plane landed well after dark, and when the door finally opened I was prepared for the familiar Caribbean night - inky black, moistly warm, with the penetrating smell of wood smoke on the breeze.
moistness
/ noun ...- This cooking method allows the potatoes to cook in their own steam, retaining their moistness, while infusing them with garlic and rosemary flavors.
- There was a feeling of wet on their face, from the moistness of the damp, thinning air.
- If there is one quality that almost everyone looks for in a cake, it is moistness.
Origin
Late Middle English: from Old French moiste, based on Latin mucidus 'mouldy' (influenced by musteus 'fresh', from mustum: see must2).