There are words with a negative sense that dont carry the same visceral impact, such as "soggy".Īs an aside, the word "rank", meaning foetid or gross, went through a similar change in meaning, changing from luxuriant, to overripe to its modern meaning. However moistness seems to have picked up sexual connotations and senses of rankness, that have made the word one to be avoided, when a relatively neutral term such as damp is available. This seems to be a recent development, with older people happy to describe a cake as moist, with a positive sense. While the dictionaries note that dampness is unpleasant, moistness has been called the most hated word, especially among younger people. You could describe some something in with liquid on the surface as "moist". However "moist" also has a meaning in medicine of "Marked by fluid discharge". Moist and damp object have, as noted in dictionaries "slight wetness", and to this extent they are synonymous. ![]() The word "moist" has a visceral effect that is not shared with "damp". ![]() These quotes have no explicit bearing on the aforementioned observation concerning the "lesser degree of wetness" connoted by 'moist'. The three historical quotes from the 1900s given for the cited definition of 'moist' are from a US author (1901), an Australian author (1972), and the Toronto Star (Canadian, 1993). In early use the word had a wider application. Now differing from damp in having no tendency to imply either an undesirable or a merely temporary or casual condition. The note in the second edition (1989) was The note concerning the greater degree of wetness connoted ("in many contexts") by 'moist' was added in the 2002 update. with reference to the texture of food, good) rather than a negative sense, and in connoting a lesser degree of wetness. In many contexts now differing from damp by having a neutral (sometimes, esp. Slightly wet, imbued with moisture containing liquid in a state of suspension or absorption not dry damp, humid. The OED Online, in an entry for 'moist' updated for the third edition, September 2002, addresses the issue directly, if somewhat hesitantly:Ī. UK usage may be different, but for the United States I don't think that a definite difference in wetness is implicitly understood as between damp and moist. usage a damp towel is neither more nor less pleasant than a moist towel-and many other instances exist where damp and moist might be used interchangeably without significantly different connotations. Wet Willie Vinyl Record LP - The Wetter The Better - 1976 - CP 0166. The usage note comparing the two words does note that some senses of damp involve unpleasant or uncomfortable settings, but it doesn't draw a sharp, categorical contrast between unpleasant wet ( damp) and pleasant or suitable wet ( moist). Check out our wetter the better selection for the very best in unique or custom. So the main entries for the two words give the relevant definition of damp as "slightly or moderately wet : MOIST" and the relevant definition of moist as "slightly or moderately wet : DAMP." Those are about as close to interchangeable definitions as you can find in Merriam-Webster. Listed below are some common degrees of adjectives, you should often use them and download them in the degree of adjectives pdf.As a counterpoint to the definitions that appear in Fard's answer (by way of Longman's Dictionary, I offer these definitions from Merriam-Webster's Eleventh Collegiate Dictionary (2003):ĭamp adj. Our research published today in Nature has found the water cycle is changing faster than we had thought, based on changes in our oceans. The more intense the adjective, the higher its position in the sentence. Climate change is shifting where the water cycle deposits water on land, with drier areas becoming drier still, and wet areas becoming even wetter. We use different adjectives to describe different levels of intensity. In this post, we’ll go over the different levels of adjectives and when you should use them.Įnglish adjectives are not used equally. And yeah, sometimes it seems like adjectives are just randomly thrown in there. Okay, Grammar is quite confusing, adjectives are too! So maybe you’re not quite sure when to use ‘very’ and when to use ‘much’. It is so wet out that the roads are flooded!.I wish that I had brought my umbrella, it’s really wet outside.It was a wet forecast and it ended up raining a lot.He is wearing a shirt, but it looks wet.I can’t go out today because it’s too wet!.This beach is so wet, I don’t want to get my feet dirty.
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