sweetness

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Related to sweetness: sweetness and light

sweet

(swēt)

adj. sweet·er, sweet·est

1. Having the taste of sugar or a substance containing or resembling sugar, as honey or saccharin.

a. Containing or derived from sugar.

b. Retaining some natural sugar; not dry: a sweet wine.

a. Pleasing to the senses; agreeable: the sweet song of the lark; a sweet face.

b. Pleasing to the mind or feelings; gratifying: sweet revenge.

4. Having a pleasing disposition; lovable: a sweet child.

5. Kind; gracious: It was sweet of him to help out.

6. Fragrant; perfumed: a sweet scent.

7. Not saline or salted: sweet water; sweet butter.

8. Not spoiled, sour, or decaying; fresh: sweet milk.

9. Free of acid or acidity: sweet soil.

10. Low in sulfur content: sweet fuel oil.

11. Music Of, relating to, or being a form of jazz characterized by adherence to a melodic line and to a time signature.

12. Slang

a. Remarkable; outstanding.

b. Used as an intensive: took his own sweet time to finish; earns a sweet million per year.

adv.

In a sweet manner; sweetly.

1. Sweet taste or quality; sweetness.

2. Something sweet to the taste.

3. sweets

a. Foods, such as candy, pastries, puddings, or preserves, that are high in sugar content.

b. Informal Sweet potatoes: candied sweets.

4. Chiefly British

a. A sweet dish, such as pudding, served as dessert.

b. A sweetmeat or confection.

5. A dear or beloved person.

6. Something pleasing to the mind or feelings.

Idiom:

sweet on Informal

Enamored of; in love with.

[Middle English swete, from Old English swēte; see swād- in Indo-European roots.]

sweet′ly adv.

sweet′ness n.

American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fifth Edition. Copyright © 2016 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.

Sweetness

See Also: PLEASURE, TASTE

Sweet as a chaplain —Elizabeth Hardwick
’Sweet’ as a comparison dates way back probably beginning with Chaucer’s “Sweet as the root of licorice” and Henry Buttes’ “Sweet as a nut.” Variations continue to develop, or, to coin another simile, “Grow like the taste for sweet things.”
Sweet as a first love affair —Isak Dinesen
(My tongue was) sweet as a fresh plum —George Garrett
Sweet as a kiss —Isak Dinesen
Sweet as a mountain lilac —Raymond Chandler
Sweet as apple cider —Eddie Cantor
This simile was immortalized by singer-vaudevillian Eddie Cantor in his musical ode to his wife Ida: “Ida … sweet as apple cidah!”
(The words) sweet as a reprieve —Delmore Schwartz
(We bit into life and life was) sweet as a ripe apple —George Garrett
Sweet as cream —Marge Piercy
Sweet as love, or the remembrance of a generous deed —William Wordsworth
Sweet as love songs —Slogan, Kerr butterscotch candy
Sweet as melancholy —Robert Burton
Sweet as new-mown hay —W. S. Gilbert
Sweet as pie —Anon
The “Sweet as pie” continues in use, both in its literal sense and to describe someone’s personality.
(Kisses as) sweet as sweet mountain dew —Langston Hughes
Sweet as the hope of Paradise —F. van Wyck Mason
Sweeter than honey from a rock —Christina Rossetti
Sweeter than perfume —William Shakespeare
Sweet like pineapple —Marge Piercy

ThesaurusAntonymsRelated WordsSynonymsLegend:

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Noun	1.	sweetness - the taste experience when sugar dissolves in the mouth sugariness, sweet gustatory perception, gustatory sensation, taste, taste perception, taste sensation - the sensation that results when taste buds in the tongue and throat convey information about the chemical composition of a soluble stimulus; "the candy left him with a bad taste"; "the melon had a delicious taste"
	2.	sweetness - the property of tasting as if it contains sugar sweet taste property - a property appreciated via the sense of taste saccharinity - the excessive sweetness of saccharin sugariness - the sweetness of sugar
	3.	sweetness - a pleasingly sweet olfactory property fragrancy, redolence, bouquet, fragrance aroma, odor, olfactory property, odour, smell, scent - any property detected by the olfactory system
	4.	sweetness - the quality of giving pleasure; "he was charmed by the sweetness of her manner"; "the pleasantness of a cool breeze on a hot summer day" pleasantness quality - an essential and distinguishing attribute of something or someone; "the quality of mercy is not strained"--Shakespeare agreeableness, amenity - pleasantness resulting from agreeable conditions; "a well trained staff saw to the agreeableness of our accommodations"; "he discovered the amenities of reading at an early age" enjoyableness - pleasantness resulting from something that can be enjoyed; "the enjoyableness of an afternoon at the beach" niceness - the quality of nice disagreeableness - the quality of being disagreeable and unpleasant

Translations

حَلاوَه

sladkostněha

sødme

Süße

makeus

douceur

édességkedvesség

sætleiki; elskulegheit

dolcezza

sladkost

tatlılık

新鲜温和甜度

sweetness

[ˈswiːtnɪs] N

1. [of food] → sabor m dulce, dulzor m

2. (fig) [of smell] → fragancia f, buen olor m; [of sound] → suavidad f; [of person, character] → dulzura f; [of appearance] → encanto m; (= kindness) → simpatía f
now all is sweetness and light → reina ahora la más perfecta armonía
he was all sweetness and light yesterday → ayer estuvo la mar de amable

Collins Spanish Dictionary - Complete and Unabridged 8th Edition 2005 © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1971, 1988 © HarperCollins Publishers 1992, 1993, 1996, 1997, 2000, 2003, 2005

sweetness

[ˈswiːtnəs] n

[food, drink, taste] → goût m sucré

[person, nature, smile] → douceur fsweet nothings npl → mots mpl doux
to whisper sweet nothings in sb's ear → susurrer des mots doux à l'oreille de qnsweet pea n → pois m de senteursweet pepper n → poivron msweet potato n → patate f doucesweet-scented sweet-smelling [ˌswiːtˈsmɛlɪŋ] adj → qui sent bon, odorant(e)sweet shop sweetshop [ˈswiːtʃɒp] n (British) → confiserie fsweet talk n → flagorneries fplsweet-talk [ˈswiːttɔːk] vt → flagornersweet tooth n
to have a sweet tooth → avoir un faible pour les sucreriessweet trolley n (British) → chariot m des desserts

Collins English/French Electronic Resource. © HarperCollins Publishers 2005

sweetness

n (lit) → Süßigkeit f, → Süße f; (fig) → Süße f; (of smile, nature) → Liebenswürdigkeit f; (of person) → liebe Art; (= freshness, of food, water) → Frische f; (of air, breath) → Reinheit f, → Frische f; now all is sweetness and light (usu iro) → nun herrscht eitel Freude und Sonnenschein

Collins German Dictionary – Complete and Unabridged 7th Edition 2005. © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1980 © HarperCollins Publishers 1991, 1997, 1999, 2004, 2005, 2007

sweetness

[ˈswiːtnɪs] n (gen) → dolcezza; (of taste) → sapore m dolce; (of breath) → freschezza
now all is sweetness and light → adesso tutti sono felici e contenti

Collins Italian Dictionary 1st Edition © HarperCollins Publishers 1995

sweet

(swiːt) adjective

1. tasting like sugar; not sour, salty or bitter. as sweet as honey; Children eat too many sweet foods.

2. tasting fresh and pleasant. young, sweet vegetables.

3. (of smells) pleasant or fragrant. the sweet smell of flowers.

4. (of sounds) agreeable or delightful to hear. the sweet song of the nightingale.

5. attractive or charming. What a sweet little baby!; a sweet face/smile; You look sweet in that dress.

6. kindly and agreeable. She's a sweet girl; The child has a sweet nature.

noun

1. (American ˈcandy) a small piece of sweet food eg chocolate, toffee etc. a packet of sweets; Have a sweet.

2. (a dish or course of) sweet food near or at the end of a meal; (a) pudding or dessert. The waiter served the sweet.

3. dear; darling. Hallo, my sweet!

ˈsweeten verb

to make or become sweet or sweeter. Did you sweeten (= put sugar in) my tea?

ˈsweetener noun

something that sweetens, eg a substance used for sweetening food. Saccharin is an artificial sweetener, often used instead of sugar.

ˈsweetly adverb

in an attractive, charming, agreeable or kindly manner. She sang/smiled very sweetly.

ˈsweetness noun

ˈsweetheart noun

1. a boyfriend or girlfriend.

2. used as an endearment for any beloved person, eg a child. Goodbye, sweetheart!

sweet potato

(the edible tuber of) a tropical twining plant.

sweet-ˈsmelling adjective

sweet-smelling flowers.

sweet-ˈtempered adjective

kind and friendly.

References in classic literature ?

She was the sweetness of the strength of the oak, the soul born of the sun kissing its green leaves in the still Memnonian mornings, of moon and stars kissing its green leaves in the still Trophonian nights.

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Into a little round place at the side of the apple has been gath- ered all of its sweetness. One runs from tree to tree over the frosted ground picking the gnarled, twisted apples and filling his pockets with them.

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And sad the hour when all ripe things must pass, For sweetness and decay are of one stem, And sweetness ever riots to decay.

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adorned with all the charms in which nature can array her; bedecked with beauty, youth, sprightliness, innocence, modesty, and tenderness, breathing sweetness from her rosy lips, and darting brightness from her sparkling eyes, the lovely Sophia comes!

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Sweetness, bitterness, sourness, are examples of this sort of quality, together with all that is akin to these; heat, moreover, and cold, whiteness, and blackness are affective qualities.

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The gentleness, modesty, and sweetness of her character were warmly expatiated on; that sweetness which makes so essential a part of every woman's worth in the judgment of man, that though he sometimes loves where it is not, he can never believe it absent.

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There was, nevertheless, some sweetness diffused over that face, but it was the sweetness of a cat or a judge, an affected, treacherous sweetness.

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Sophia (who though naturally all winning sweetness could when occasions demanded it call forth the Dignity of her sex) instantly put on a most forbidding look, and darting an angry frown on the undaunted culprit, demanded in a haughty tone of voice "Wherefore her retirement was thus insolently broken in on?" The unblushing Macdonald, without even endeavouring to exculpate himself from the crime he was charged with, meanly endeavoured to reproach Sophia with ignobly defrauding him of his money .

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At night time she sang or played with the windows open, Wingrave himself out of sight under the cedar trees, whose perfume filled with aromatic sweetness the still night air.

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Try that sort of answer when your wife or your daughter next worries you with an awkward question at an awkward time, and depend on the natural sweetness of women for kissing and making it up again at the next opportunity.

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It was far down the afternoon; and when all the spearings of the crimson fight were done: and floating in the lovely sunset sea and sky, sun and whale both stilly died together; then, such a sweetness and such plaintiveness, such inwreathing orisons curled up in that rosy air, that it almost seemed as if far over from the deep green convent valleys of the Manilla isles, the Spanish land-breeze, wantonly turned sailor, had gone to sea, freighted with these vesper hymns.

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Better for thee to say: "Ineffable is it, and nameless, that which is pain and sweetness to my soul, and also the hunger of my bowels."

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