dryness

dry  (dr)

adj. dri·er (drr) or dry·er, dri·est (drst) or dry·est

1. Free from liquid or moisture: changed to dry clothes.

2. Having or characterized by little or no rain: a dry climate.

3. Marked by the absence of natural or normal moisture: a dry month.

4. Not under water: dry land.

5. Having all the water or liquid drained away, evaporated, or exhausted: a dry river.

6. No longer yielding liquid, especially milk: a dry cow.

7. Lacking a mucous or watery discharge: a dry cough.

8. Not shedding tears: dry sobs.

9. Needing or desiring drink; thirsty: a dry mouth.

10. No longer wet: The paint is dry.

11. Of or relating to solid rather than liquid substances or commodities: dry weight.

12. Not sweet as a result of the decomposition of sugar during fermentation. Used of wines.

13. Having a large proportion of strong liquor to other ingredients: a dry martini.

14. Eaten or served without butter, gravy, or other garnish: dry toast; dry meat.

15. Having no adornment or coloration; plain: the dry facts.

16. Devoid of bias or personal concern: presented a dry critique.

17.

a. Lacking tenderness, warmth, or involvement; severe: The actor gave a dry reading of the lines.

b. Matter-of-fact or indifferent in manner: rattled off the facts in a dry mechanical tone.

18. Wearisome; dull: a dry lecture filled with trivial details.

19. Humorous or sarcastic in a shrewd, impersonal way: dry wit.

20. Prohibiting or opposed to the sale or consumption of alcoholic beverages: a dry county.

21. Unproductive of the expected results: a mind dry of new ideas.

22. Constructed without mortar or cement: dry masonry.

v. dried (drd), dry·ing, dries (drz)

v.tr.

1. To remove the moisture from; make dry: laundry dried by the sun.

2. To preserve (meat or other foods, for example) by extracting the moisture.

v.intr.

To become dry: The sheets dried quickly in the sun.

n. pl. drys Informal

A prohibitionist.

Phrasal Verbs:

dry out Informal

To undergo a cure for alcoholism.

dry up

1. To make or become unproductive, especially to do so gradually.

2. Informal To stop talking.

---

[Middle English drie, from Old English drge.]

---

dryly, drily adv.

dryness n.

Synonyms: dry, dehydrate, desiccate, parch
These verbs mean to remove the moisture from: drying the dishes; added water to eggs that were dehydrated; a factory where coconut meat is shredded and desiccated; land parched by the sun. See Also Synonyms at sour.

Antonym: moisten

---

Dryness 

1. Arid as the sands of the Sahara —Joseph Conrad

   The everyday cliche is “Dry as the Sahara.”

2. (I’ll) drain him dry as hay —William Shakespeare
3. Dries up like snakeskin —Kate Grenville
4. (Her words were) dry as the rustle of old leaves —William Beechcroft
5. Dry and cracking like the bindings on rare books —Diane Wakoski
6. (His throat was) dry as a desert —Colin Forbes
7. (Heart) dry as an autumn leaf —Nelson Algren
8. (You’ll sweat until you’re as) dry as an old gourd —George Garrett
9. Dry as ashes —Fisher Ames

   Variations of this much-used cliche include “Dry as dust” as well as frame-of-reference switches such as “White as ashes.”

10. (His sensitive palate as) dry as a bread crust —W. S. Gilbert
11. Dry as a spinster on a Saturday night —line from “St. Elsewhere” television drama, broadcast December 16, 1986
12. (I was) dry as a stick —Thomas Gray

    Gray used this in combination with two other similes: “I was dry as a stick, hard as a stone, and cold as a cucumber.”

13. (Her voice was) dry as burned paper —Susan Fromberg Schaeffer
14. (My heart felt as) dry as dirt —Bernard Malamud
15. (Their intellectuality is as) dry as dung that’s lain on a dusty road for weeks —Louis Adamic

    A shorter version seen in a poem by W. D. Snodgrass: “Parched as dung.”

16. Dry as faded marigold —Stephen Vincent Benét
17. Dry as last year’s crow’s nest —Anon
18. Dry as poverty —John Ashbery
19. Dry as woodash —Marge Piercy
20. [Feeling of teeth against lips] dry as sandpaper —William Faulkner
21. (Hair) dry as spun glass —Elizabeth Spencer
22. (He was dry-looking, as) dry as talc —Marianne Wiggins
23. Dry as the white dunes under sunlight —Marge Piercy
24. Dry up faster than a pressed corsage —Reynolds Price
25. Parched like an open mouth —Charles Simic

Thesaurus

Noun	1.	dryness - the condition of not containing or being covered by a liquid (especially water) waterlessness, xerotes condition, status - a state at a particular time; "a condition (or state) of disrepair"; "the current status of the arms negotiations" dehydration, desiccation - dryness resulting from the removal of water drought, drouth - a shortage of rainfall; "farmers most affected by the drought hope that there may yet be sufficient rain early in the growing season" aridness, thirstiness, aridity - a deficiency of moisture (especially when resulting from a permanent absence of rainfall) sereness - a withered dryness conjunctivitis arida, xeroma, xerophthalmia, xerophthalmus - abnormal dryness of the conjunctiva and cornea of the eyes; may be due to a systemic deficiency of vitamin A dry mouth, xerostomia - abnormal dryness of the mouth resulting from decreased secretion of saliva wetness - the condition of containing or being covered by a liquid (especially water); "he confirmed the wetness of the swimming trunks"
	2.	dryness - moderation in or abstinence from alcohol or other drugs sobriety temperance, moderation - the trait of avoiding excesses
	3.	dryness - objectivity and detachment; "her manner assumed a dispassion and dryness very unlike her usual tone" dispassion, dispassionateness emotionlessness, unemotionality - absence of emotion

---

dryness

noun

1. aridity, drought, dehydration, aridness, dehumidification, waterlessness, moisturelessness, parchedness the parched dryness of the air

2. thirstiness, thirst, desire for a drink, parchedness Symptoms include dryness of the mouth.

Translations

dryness [ˈdraɪnɪs] N

1. [of hair, skin, climate] → sequedad f

2. [of wit, humour] → mordacidad f

3. [of wine, sherry, cider, champagne] → lo seco

4. [of lecture, subject, book] → aridez f

dryness [ˈdraɪnɪs] n

[air, ground, weather] → sécheresse f

[hair, skin] → sécheresse f

[mouth] → sécheresse f

[wine] → sécheresse f

[humour] → côté m pince-sans-rire
dry-roasted [ˌdraɪˈrəʊstɪd] adj [peanuts] → grillé à sec
dry rot n → pourriture du bois)f sèche >
dry run n (= trial) → galop m d'essai (= rehearsal) → répétition f
dry ski slope n → piste f de ski artificielle
dry-stone wall n → mur m de pierres sèches

dryness

n (all senses) → Trockenheit f

dryness [ˈdraɪnɪs] n (gen) → secchezza; (of ground) → aridità
she remarked with some dryness that ... → osservò con una punta d'ironia che...