Cloy

To disgust or sicken someone with an excess of sweetness, richness, or sentiment; to become unpleasant through overabundance. The term often refers to food, but it can also describe anything that becomes wearisome or repulsive due to excess. The key concept is a saturation point where the initial pleasure turns into an unpleasant feeling. The 'cloying' effect results from an experience's intensity or repetition beyond the point of enjoyment. This often leads to feelings of boredom, indifference, or even aversion towards the object of the experience.

Cloy meaning with examples

• The dessert was beautifully presented, but the excessive use of sugary glaze and cream, a seemingly endless parade of sweetness cloyed the diners, leaving them with a feeling of nausea. They could barely finish a single bite, the initial delight quickly vanishing as the flavors became overwhelming, transforming a treat into a torment.
• After several hours of watching the same predictable romantic comedy, the constant barrage of sentimentality started to cloy her. The sugary dialogue and predictable plot became grating, making her yearn for something with more substance and realism, as if she were drowning in syrup.
• The perfume shop was overwhelming. The air was thick with a multitude of scents which cloyed after a moment, the clashing of the scents becoming nauseating after a moment. The initial allure of the variety of scents, was lost in the chaos of the experience, and the customer left feeling unwell.
• The constant praise, though initially flattering, started to cloy her. Each comment of 'how wonderful' began to feel hollow, the praise became excessive, and the intended flattery ultimately had the opposite effect, leaving her craving sincerity instead of a saccharine performance.
• He enjoyed the chocolate cake at first, but the richness of the ganache, along with the sweetness of the cake began to cloy him. After only a few bites, he found himself feeling rather ill from having enjoyed it so thoroughly, so it was left mostly uneaten.