Cloyingness

Part of speech: noun

Definitions

1. The state of being excessively sweet or rich to the point of causing discomfort, coupled with an overwhelming sentimental nature that can feel insincere or excessive
2. It refers to a quality that combines an overpowering sweetness or richness with an emotional sentimentality that is often viewed as excessive or cloying
3. The quality of being overwhelmingly sugary or rich to the point it becomes unpleasant or hard to tolerate

Etymology: Cloyingness is a plain English formation: the adjective "cloying" with the suffix "-ness" added to turn a quality into a noun. The adjective itself comes from "cloy," a verb that once meant to clog or choke up, especially to fill someone up until they lose their appetite. That literal sense of blockage is still visible in the way sweetness can overwhelm the palate, which is the root of the figurative meaning here. The suffix "-ness" is one of the oldest and most productive noun-forming endings in English, inherited from Old English, and it attaches readily to adjectives describing states or qualities. Writers use it when they want to name a quality in the abstract, such as the sugary sentimentality of a film or a greeting card, as a thing in itself.

Synonyms: syrupy sweetness, over-sweetness

Antonyms: bitterness, sourness