I. ˈswēt, usu -ēd.+V adjective
( -er/-est )
Etymology: Middle English swete, sweete, from Old English swēte; akin to Old Saxon swōti, suoti sweet, Old High German suozi, Old Norse sœtr sweet, Latin suadis pleasant, sweet, Greek hēdys sweet, Sanskrit svādu
1.
a. : marked by or arising from graciousness, kindness, or sympathy
not often that a mind so attractive goes with a character so sweet as his — H.J.Laski
her sweet personality
b. : not intemperate or extreme : even , moderate
sweet reasonableness — Matthew Arnold
c. : charming , nice — often used as a generalized term of approval
that's very sweet of her
2.
a. : pleasing to the taste : indicating or inducing (as by stimulation with disaccharides) the one of the four basic taste sensations that is usually felt as pleasing and agreeable — compare bitter , salt , sour
b.
(1) of a beverage : containing a perceptible quantity of sugar or other sweetening ingredient : not dry
(2) of wine : retaining a portion of natural sugar often through arrested fermentation effected either by pasteurization or by the addition of grape brandy
a sweet sherry
c. : cloying , saccharine
the flaw in her book is the sweet side, the Pollyanna note, that fatal emphasis on the happy ending — Rosemary Benét
d. : mildly seasoned : not pungent
sweet pickles
3.
a. : pleasing to the mind or the feelings : arousing agreeable or delightful emotions : attractive
the sweetest privilege that any writer can ask — Irving Kolodin
the pleasant smell overcame him like sweet sleep — O.E.Rölvaag
b. : pleasing to the smell : fragrant
the valleys are sweet with the fragrance of orange blossoms — American Guide Series: Arizona
the sweet smell of new-cut boards — Sherwood Anderson
c.
(1) : pleasing to the ear : gently harmonious : not raucous or disturbing : melodious
the angelic, disembodied voices … were incredibly pure and sweet — John Steinbeck
the bell sounds as sweet today as it ever did — New Yorker
(2) : of or relating to jazz performed typically without improvisation, having a moderate and smoothly pleasing tempo, tone color, harmony, and rhythm, and often imitating the qualities of symphonic or salon music — compare hot
d. : pleasing to the eye : not bold or violent in color or line : soft
flower motifs and emblems, all printed in sweet colors — Charles Rosner
remembered the sweet lines of her arms — Walter O'Meara
e. : pretty , fetching
a sweet young thing
a sweet face
4. : much loved : dear
then pardon him, sweet father, for my sake — Shakespeare
sweetest love, I do not go, for weariness of thee — John Donne
5.
a. : having the taste or odor belonging to the original sound state of something : not sour, rancid, decaying, or stale : wholesome
put the bottle in the stream to keep the milk sweet
here was the pinch of mystery that kept the legend sweet — John Rosselli
b. : not salt or salted : fresh
sweet water
a sweet spring
sweet butter
c. of land : suitable in composition to production of crops : neutral or alkaline : not dank or acid — opposed to sour
d. : free from noxious gases and odors
sweet crude oil
sweet mine air
e. : free from excess of acid, sulfur, or corrosive salts
f. : free from malodorous sulfur compounds (as hydrogen sulfide or mercaptans) — used especially of natural gas, petroleum, and petroleum distillates
gas or oil is sour or sweet , but you wouldn't find the sweet as tasty as that — Harry Botsford
6.
a. : easily managed : smooth-running
a sweet ship
b. : managing or acting easily and smoothly : skillful
for a high-up man like him he was a sweet hand at weeding — Edward Sheehy
a sweet pilot
a sweet fielder
c. of an archery bow : easy to the hand : drawing smoothly and releasing without kicking
d. of glass : easily workable
7.
a. : agreeable or obedient to oneself or itself alone
pleaded to be allowed to descend upon a community in my own sweet way — Cornelia Parker
takes its own sweet time as it rolls lackadaisically across the prairie — Green Peyton
b. : fine , great , terrific — used as an intensive
it would be a sweet gag to use mass communications in order to denounce them — J.B.Priestley
one sweet inferiority complex — Harvey Breit
Synonyms:
engaging , winning , winsome , dulcet : sweet , applied to things other than those tasted, is a term of general commendation for what pleases, attracts, or charms, usually in a mild way
twilight, sweet with the smell of lilac and freshly turned earth — Corey Ford
pleased at this sudden return to sweet reasonableness — C.G.D.Roberts
has been very sweet. He wants to help, but of course there's nothing he can do — Louis Auchincloss
engaging may indicate power to attract favorable attention, sometimes by intriguing or charming characteristics
affectionate, cheerful, happy, his sweet and engaging personality drew all men's love — H.O.Taylor
the most engaging human beings who ever harbored a sly smile — Charlton Laird
winning may suggest power to delight, charm, placate, or enamor
a quiet, self-possessed, and gracious young lady, of singularly winning manners, and clear and resolutely honest eyes — William Black
simple as a child, with his gentle, winning voice and grave smile — Van Wyck Brooks
winsome may suggest any engaging quality; it may call up notions of blended comeliness, cheer, childlike nature, and open candor
remembered her childlike look, and winsome fanciful ways, and shy tremulous grace — Oscar Wilde
dulcet may apply to something gratifying, soothing, bland, and sweet
the voice … dulcet as the hum of heavy honeybees amid orange blossoms — Herman Wouk
•
- sweet on
II. transitive verb
( -ed/-ing/-s )
Etymology: Middle English sweten, from Old English swētan; akin to Middle Low German sœten to sweeten, Middle Dutch soeten, Old High German suozen; causative-denominative from the root of English sweet (I)
: sweeten
III. adverb
( -er/-est )
Etymology: Middle English swete, sweete, from swete, sweete, adjective
: sweetly
how sweet the moonlight sleeps upon this bank — Shakespeare
IV. noun
( -s )
Etymology: Middle English swete, sweete, from swete, sweete, adjective
1. : something that is sweet to the taste: as
a. : a food (as a candy or preserve) having a high sugar content — usually used in plural
filling up on candy and other sweets — Carl Binger
can cross the street and readily buy sweets at a store — Jane Nickerson
b. sweets plural , Britain : sweetened wines and cordials
c. Britain : a sweet dish served at the end of a meal : dessert
d. Britain : candy
put a large sweet in her cheek — Elizabeth Taylor
this is done by swallowing, or by chewing a sweet or gum — Before You Take Off
e. : sweet potato
2. : a sweet taste sensation
they see and smell and have their palates both for sweet and sour — Shakespeare
3. : a pleasant or gratifying experience, possession, or state : something that delights or deeply satisfies
precious sweets which older writers have coveted and gained — Sinclair Lewis
the sweets of life
the sweets of office
4. : beloved , darling , sweetheart
you can always talk to me, you sweet — Susan Ertz
5.
a. archaic : sweet smell : fragrance
the scent … makes faint with too much sweet — P.B.Shelley
b. sweets plural , archaic : things having a sweet smell
a wilderness of sweets — John Milton