Dry — Meaning, Definition & Synonyms

adjective verb noun /ˈdrī/

Meaning & Definition of Dry

Dry (adjective)

  1. free or relatively free from a liquid and especially water
  2. not being in or under water
  3. lacking precipitation or humidity

Dry (verb)

  1. to make dry
  2. to become dry

Dry (noun)

  1. the condition of being dry, dryness
  2. something dry; especially, a dry place
  3. prohibitionist

Dry (adjective) — Senses, Synonyms & Antonyms

  1. marked by little or no precipitation or humidity

    "the dry climate of the American Southwest"

    similar: arid, droughty, sere, thirsty, waterless
    related: air-dry, bone-dry, hyperarid, ultradry, baked, dehydrated, parched, sunbaked, rainless, desert, desertic, desertlike, xerothermic
    opposite: damp, dank, humid, moist, wet
    near: awash, bathed, doused, drenched, dripping, saturated, soaked, soaking, sodden, soggy, sopping, soppy, soused, washed, watered, waterlogged, watery, deluged, drowned, flooded, inundated, overflowed, submerged, swamped, hydrated

  2. causing weariness, restlessness, or lack of interest

    "a very dry topic for a lecture at a museum of natural history"

    similar: arid, boring, colorless, drab, dreary, drudging, dull, dusty, flat, heavy, ho-hum, humdrum, jading, jejune, leaden, mind-numbing, monochromatic, monotonous, numbing, old, pedestrian, ponderous, slow, stale, stodgy, stuffy, stupid, tame, tedious, tiresome, tiring, uninteresting, wearisome, weary, wearying
    related: aseptic, barren, blah, dullish, pleasureless, prosaic, prosy, soggy, spiritless, blank, earthbound, gray, inanimate, pallid, pedantic, sterile, suspenseless, undramatic, uneventful, unexciting, unimaginative, uninspiring, unnewsworthy, unrewarding, unsensational, unspectacular, annoying, bothersome, irksome, irritating, longsome, palling, draining, enervating, exhausting, fatiguing, wearing, debilitating, enfeebling, demoralizing, discouraging, disheartening, dispiriting, common, commonplace, ordinary, tepid, unexceptional, unsurprising, vapid, cumbersome, lumbering, plodding, poky
    opposite: absorbing, engaging, engrossing, gripping, interesting, intriguing, involving, riveting
    near: amazing, astonishing, astounding, awesome, eye-opening, fabulous, marvelous, sensational, spectacular, surprising, wonderful, wondrous, animating, breathtaking, electrifying, energizing, enlivening, exciting, exhilarating, galvanizing, hair-raising, inspiring, invigorating, rip-roaring, rousing, stimulating, stirring, thrilling, amusing, diverting, entertaining, moving, poignant, touching, alluring, attracting, attractive, beguiling, bewitching, captivating, charming, enchanting, enthralling, entrancing, fascinating, mesmerizing, spellbinding, suspenseful, arresting, provocative, tantalizing

  3. having or showing a lack of friendliness or interest in others

    "a dry temperament that suited him well in a desk job that required no interaction with the customers"

    similar: aloof, antisocial, asocial, buttoned-up, cold, cold-eyed, cool, detached, distant, frosty, offish, remote, standoff, standoffish, unbending, unclubbable, unsociable
    related: indrawn, introverted, nongregarious, recessive, reclusive, reserved, unsocial, withdrawn, misanthropic, apathetic, hard, indifferent, unconcerned, clinical, dispassionate, impersonal, professional, disinterested, incurious, uninterested, reticent, silent, taciturn, uncommunicative, diffident, shy, timid, cliquey, cliquish, clubbish
    opposite: cordial, friendly, sociable, social, warm
    near: boon, clubbable, clubby, companionable, convivial, extroverted, gregarious, outgoing, communicative, expansive, garrulous, talkative, affable, folksy, genial, gracious, hospitable, agreeable, amiable, congenial, kindly, neighborly

Dry (verb) — Senses, Synonyms & Antonyms

  1. to make dry

    "the wind quickly dried their clothes"

    similar: dehydrate, desiccate, parch, scorch, sear
    related: dehumidify, drain, evaporate, mummify, shrivel, wither, wizen, air-dry, bake
    opposite: hydrate, wash, water, wet
    near: bathe, deluge, douse, drench, drown, flood, inundate, overflow, saturate, soak, sop, souse, waterlog, damp, dampen, humidify, moisten, rehydrate, dip, dunk, submerge, swamp

  2. to lose liveliness, force, or freshness

    "his creative talents were just drying on the vine in that small, provincial town"

    similar: wilt, wither
    related: mummify, shrivel, wizen, decline, fade, wane, decrease, diminish, lessen
    near: freshen, revive, bloom, flourish, prosper, thrive, develop, grow, increase, wax, crest, peak, surge

Dry (noun) — Senses, Synonyms & Antonyms

  1. as in prohibitionist

    similar: prohibitionist, abstainer, nondrinker, teetotaler, teetotalist
    opposite: bibber, drinker, alcoholic, barfly, boozehound, boozer, drunk, drunkard, inebriate, sot, souse, tippler, wet

Related Entry: Dry nurse (noun)

Dry nurse is a different word from Dry. The synonyms below are for dry nurse, not for dry.

  1. a girl or woman employed to care for a young child or children

    "after years of being a dry nurse to other women's children, she longed to have a child of her own"

    similar: babysitter, nanny, nurse, nursemaid, nurser, sitter
    related: amah, ayah, au pair, bonne, mammy, duenna, fraulein, governess, mademoiselle

Related Entry: Dry run (noun)

Dry run is a different word from Dry. The synonyms below are for dry run, not for dry.

  1. a private performance or session in preparation for a public appearance

    "we had time for just one dry run of the play before opening night"

    similar: practice, rehearsal, trial
    related: dress rehearsal, preview, run-through, walk-through, drill, exercise

Related Entry: Dry up (verb)

Dry up is a different word from Dry. The synonyms below are for dry up, not for dry.

  1. to stop talking

    "sick of her constant complaining, he angrily told her to dry up"

    similar: belt up (British), clam up, dummy up, hush, pipe down, quiet (down), shut up, hold one's tongue
    related: calm (down), cool (down), settle (down), haw, hem
    opposite: speak, talk
    near: pipe up, sound off, speak out, speak up, spout (off), talk up

Related Entry: Dry-clean (verb)

Dry-clean is a different word from Dry. The synonyms below are for dry-clean, not for dry.

  1. as in wash, brush

    similar: brush, comb, dust, launder, mop, muck (out), rinse, scour, scrub, shampoo, sponge, swab, sweep, vacuum, wash, wipe, clean, cleanse, deterge, GI, turn out, decontaminate, purge, purify, disinfect, sanitize, brighten, deodorize, freshen, spruce (up), sweeten, pick up, straighten (up), tidy, unclutter
    opposite: begrime, muddy, defile, pollute, taint, blacken, discolor, besmirch, dirty, foul, soil, spot, stain, sully

Related Entry: Dry-cleaned (verb)

Dry-cleaned is a different word from Dry. The synonyms below are for dry-cleaned, not for dry.

  1. as in washed, brushed

    similar: brushed, combed, dusted, laundered, mopped, mucked (out), rinsed, scoured, scrubbed, shampooed, sponged, swabbed, swept, vacuumed, washed, wiped, cleaned, cleansed, deterged, GI'd, turned out, decontaminated, purged, purified, disinfected, sanitized, brightened, deodorized, freshened, spruced (up), sweetened, picked up, straightened (up), tidied, uncluttered
    opposite: begrimed, muddied, defiled, polluted, tainted, blackened, discolored, besmirched, dirtied, fouled, soiled, spotted, stained, sullied

Related Entry: Dry-cleaning (verb)

Dry-cleaning is a different word from Dry. The synonyms below are for dry-cleaning, not for dry.

  1. as in washing, brushing

    similar: brushing, combing, dusting, laundering, mopping, mucking (out), rinsing, scouring, scrubbing, shampooing, sponging, swabbing, sweeping, vacuuming, washing, wiping, cleaning, cleansing, deterging, GI'ing, turning out, decontaminating, purging, purifying, disinfecting, sanitizing, brightening, deodorizing, freshening, sprucing (up), sweetening, picking up, straightening (up), tidying, uncluttering
    opposite: begriming, muddying, defiling, polluting, tainting, blackening, discoloring, besmirching, dirtying, fouling, soiling, spotting, staining, sullying

Related Entry: Dry-cleans (verb)

Dry-cleans is a different word from Dry. The synonyms below are for dry-cleans, not for dry.

  1. as in washes, brushes

    similar: brushes, combs, dusts, launders, mops, mucks (out), rinses, scours, scrubs, shampoos, sponges, swabs, sweeps, vacuums, washes, wipes, cleans, cleanses, deterges, GIs, turns out, decontaminates, purges, purifies, disinfects, sanitizes, brightens, deodorizes, freshens, spruces (up), sweetens, picks up, straightens (up), tidies, unclutters
    opposite: begrimes, muddies, defiles, pollutes, taints, blackens, discolors, besmirches, dirties, fouls, soils, spots, stains, sullies

Synonyms, Thesaurus & Another Word for Dry

The most common words with a similar meaning to Dry:

arid, droughty, sere, thirsty, waterless, boring, colorless, drab, dreary, drudging, dull, dusty, flat, heavy, ho-hum, humdrum, jading, jejune, leaden, mind-numbing, monochromatic, monotonous, numbing, old, pedestrian, ponderous, slow, stale, stodgy, stuffy, stupid, tame, tedious, tiresome, tiring, uninteresting, wearisome, weary, wearying, aloof

Antonyms & Opposite Words for Dry

Words with the opposite meaning of Dry:

damp, dank, humid, moist, wet, absorbing, engaging, engrossing, gripping, interesting, intriguing, involving, riveting, cordial, friendly, sociable, social, warm, hydrate, wash, water, bibber, drinker, alcoholic, barfly, boozehound, boozer, drunk, drunkard, inebriate

Related Words for Dry

air-dry, bone-dry, hyperarid, ultradry, baked, dehydrated, parched, sunbaked, rainless, desert, desertic, desertlike, xerothermic, aseptic, barren, blah, dullish, pleasureless, prosaic, prosy, soggy, spiritless, blank, earthbound, gray, inanimate, pallid, pedantic, sterile, suspenseless

Near Antonyms of Dry

awash, bathed, doused, drenched, dripping, saturated, soaked, soaking, sodden, soggy, sopping, soppy, soused, washed, watered, waterlogged, watery, deluged, drowned, flooded, inundated, overflowed, submerged, swamped, hydrated, amazing, astonishing, astounding, awesome, eye-opening

Word Forms of Dry

Inflections: drier, dryer, driest, dryest, dried, drying, drys

Derived words: dryish (adjective), dryly (adverb), dryness (noun), dryable (adjective)

Origin & Etymology of Dry

Middle English, from Old English drȳge; akin to Old High German truckan dry, Old English drēahnian to drain

First known use: before 12th century

Vocabulary Lists & Topics for Dry

Words & Phrases Containing Dry

dry-bulb temperature, dry-bulb thermometer, dry cell, dry-clean, dry cleaner

Frequently Asked Questions about Dry

What does "Dry" mean?

"Dry" means free or relatively free from a liquid and especially water. As an an adjective, a verb and a noun, it is defined as: free or relatively free from a liquid and especially water. It has 6 distinct senses.

What is another word for "Dry"?

Other words for "Dry" include arid, droughty, sere, thirsty, waterless, boring, colorless and drab. The best synonym depends on which meaning of "Dry" you intend.

What are different ways to say "Dry"?

There are 178 words and phrases with a similar meaning to "Dry". Common alternatives include arid, droughty, sere, thirsty, waterless, boring, colorless, drab, dreary and drudging.

What is the opposite of "Dry"?

Antonyms of "Dry" include damp, dank, humid, moist, wet, absorbing, engaging and engrossing. Near antonyms include awash, bathed, doused and drenched.

How do you use "Dry" in a sentence?

Examples of "Dry" in a sentence: "the dry climate of the American Southwest"; "a very dry topic for a lecture at a museum of natural history"; "a dry temperament that suited him well in a desk job that required no interaction with the customers".

Is "Dry" a noun, verb, or adjective?

"Dry" can be used as an adjective, a verb and a noun, depending on the context.

Is "Dry" useful for IELTS, TOEFL, and other English exams?

As a B2-level word, "Dry" is typical of Cambridge B2 First (FCE), IELTS band 5.5–6.5, TOEFL iBT 72–94, PTE Academic 59–75, TOEIC Listening & Reading 785+.

How do you pronounce "Dry"?

"Dry" is pronounced /ˈdrī/.