Definitions

from The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, 5th Edition.

  • adjective Having the taste of sugar or a substance containing or resembling sugar, as honey or saccharin.
  • adjective Containing or derived from sugar.
  • adjective Retaining some natural sugar; not dry.
  • adjective Pleasing to the senses; agreeable.
  • adjective Pleasing to the mind or feelings; gratifying.
  • adjective Having a pleasing disposition; lovable.
  • adjective Kind; gracious.
  • adjective Fragrant; perfumed.
  • adjective Not saline or salted.
  • adjective Not spoiled, sour, or decaying; fresh.
  • adjective Free of acid or acidity.
  • adjective Low in sulfur content.
  • adjective Music Of, relating to, or being a form of jazz characterized by adherence to a melodic line and to a time signature.
  • adjective Remarkable; outstanding.
  • adjective Used as an intensive.
  • adverb In a sweet manner; sweetly.
  • noun Sweet taste or quality; sweetness.
  • noun Something sweet to the taste.
  • noun Foods, such as candy, pastries, puddings, or preserves, that are high in sugar content.
  • noun Informal Sweet potatoes.
  • noun A sweet dish, such as pudding, served as dessert.
  • noun A sweetmeat or confection.
  • noun A dear or beloved person.
  • noun Something pleasing to the mind or feelings.
  • idiom (sweet on) Enamored of; in love with.

from The Century Dictionary.

  • Sweetly; in a sweet manner; so as to be sweet.
  • In mech., smooth; done without appearance of effort; easy; well-lubricated: as, a sweet run; a sweet cut.
  • In mining, free from deleterious gases.
  • To make sweet; sweeten.
  • Pleasing to the taste; having a pleasant taste or flavor like that of sugar or honey; also, having a fresh, natural taste, as distinguished from a taste that is stale, sour, or rancid.
  • Pleasing to the smell; fragrant; perfumed.
  • Pleasing to the ear; making agreeable music; musical; soft; melodious; harmonious: as, a sweet singer; a sweet song.
  • Pleasing to the eye; beautiful; attractive; charming.
  • Pleasing, agreeable, grateful, or soothing to the mind or emotional nature; exciting pleasant or agreeable feelings; charming; delightful; attractive; hence, dearly loved; precious.
  • Gracious; kind; amiable: as, sweet manners: formerly often used as a term of complimentary address: as. sweet sir.
  • Free from sour or otherwise excessive taste.
  • Fresh; not salt or salted.
  • Being in a sound or wholesome state; not sour or spoiled; not putrescent or putrid: as, sweet meat.
  • In archery, of a bow, soft in flexure and recoil. See the last quotation under sweetness.
  • Synonyms Luscious, sugary, honeyed.
  • Redolent, balmy.
  • Dulcet.
  • Engaging, winning, lovely.
  • Lovable.
  • noun The quality of being sweet; sweetness.

Etymologies

from The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, 4th Edition

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

from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License

Via Middle English swete, sweete, from Old English swēte, from Proto-Germanic *swōtuz, from Proto-Indo-European *sweh₂d-. Compare West Frisian swiet, Low German sööt, Dutch zoet, German süß, Danish sød.

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Examples

  • Rosa, Coretta…I hear you girls singing in the Choir today..sweet sweet music..continuing your work from up there..

    Firedoglake » Grand Jury to Meet Tomorrow 2006

  • With sweet almonds always use a small portion of bitter; without them, _sweet_ almonds have little or no taste, though they add to the richness of the cake.

    The Whitehouse Cookbook (1887) The Whole Comprising a Comprehensive Cyclopedia of Information for the Home Mrs. F.L. Gillette

  • I love the decorations, the cute costumes, and all of the sweet treats ... it was definitely a holiday invented for those with a * sweet* tooth (that's totally me!).

    Taylored Expressions 2008

  • Dear Mother Bonnivel, is it wicked that I can't be sad and regretful, but that the freedom is so sweet -- _so sweet_? "

    Joyce's Investments A Story for Girls Fannie E. Newberry

  • Opposite, another young lawyer, Eugene Fort, was saying preternaturally bright things to Tiny, who lifted her sweet orbs at intervals and remarked: "How _dreadfully_ clever you are, Mr. Fort; I am _so_ afraid of you!" or "How _sweet_ of you to think I am worth all those _real_ epigrams!

    The Californians Gertrude Franklin Horn Atherton 1902

  • The woman leaned toward me, her expression sweet and generous.

    The Exorsistah: X Returns Claudia Mair Burney 2010

  • It is not the orange thing we associate with the term sweet potato.

    TravelPod.com Recent Updates 2009

  • Ms. DICKINSON: That's what we call a sweet gig, my friend.

    Help 'Ask Amy' Write A Commencement Speech 2010

  • A good starting point in creating a happy kitchen, according to Mr. Grey, is discovering what he calls the sweet spot.

    A Kitchen to Comfort Your Soul Tara Loader Wilkinson 2010

  • But when they broke up this meeting, they sounded a little bit less optimistic than they did earlier today, because they said, in many ways, it is very tough, very difficult to find what they called the sweet spot, enough money to cut but enough to spend to make everybody happy and to really stimulate the economy.

    CNN Transcript Feb 5, 2009 2009

Comments

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  • 'How sad and bad and mad it was, but then, how it was sweet.' -Robert Browning

    February 20, 2008

  • "13. Music Of, relating to, or being a form of jazz characterized by adherence to a melodic line and to a time signature." --AHD

    November 21, 2011

  • 13. Not very jazz-like, if improvisation in melody and meter are benchmarks.

    November 21, 2011

  • 13. I know, right? I'd like to hear music that doesn't "adhere" to a time signature.*

    *actually, I probably wouldn't. :-p

    November 21, 2011

  • sweet like a sugar :)

    May 27, 2012

  • yeah youre right

    June 3, 2012