What is another word for dry?
Dry has a lot of meanings that stem from its literal meaning: free from
moisture. Something that is completely
dry in this sense can be described as
bone-dry, desert-dry, or
dry as dust. Deserts and other
dry environments—those without rain or humidity—are often described as
arid. Sometimes,
arid implies that such an environment is also
barren (lacking vegetation due to the lack of water). The land in such places could be described as
parched, which is also used to describe someone who is thirsty (whose throat is
dry). A
dry climate is one without much rain. An extended period of
dry weather is called a
drought. The adjective
droughty can describe
dry weather, but it’s not commonly used. Something that has become
dry due to a loss of moisture could be described as
dried-up. Depending on the cause of the moisture loss, it could be described as
drained or
evaporated. A plant that has dried up could be described as
withered or
shriveled. An uncommon synonym is
sere. Something that has had its moisture removed intentionally could be described as
dried, as in
dried fruits. The word
dehydrated is sometimes used to mean the same thing. A common nonliteral sense of
dry is used to describe a particular sense of humor (or a joke) that’s expressed in a
straight-faced,
matter-of-fact way (as if it weren’t a joke at all). This type of delivery is sometimes described as
deadpan.
Sarcasm is not the same thing as
dry humor, but the two sometimes overlap. Another nonliteral sense is used to describe something that’s
dull or
uninteresting because it lacks any exciting or engaging elements, as in
The presentation was a bit dry—you need to liven it up a bit. Describing eyes as
dry means there are no tears in them. This is usually used in the negative, as in
There wasn’t a dry eye in the audience (meaning that everyone was crying). A
figurative sense of
dry means not having or allowing alcohol, as in
a dry town. As a verb,
dry means to remove the moisture from something, as in
Dry the dishes or to lose moisture, as in
Let the dishes dry in the dish drainer. The verb phrase
dry off can be used for either sense.
What is the opposite (antonym) of dry?
Dry is the opposite of
wet,
moist, and
damp. There are a lot of words for things that are very wet, such as
soaked,
drenched, and
water-logged. The opposite of a
dry climate is a
rainy or
humid one. The opposite of something that’s dry as in dull or uninteresting is something that’s
exciting,
engaging, or
dynamic.
Wet can also be the opposite of the verb
dry, as in
If the brush is dry, wet it before using it. A perhaps more commonly used synonym of the verb sense of
wet is
moisten.
Is it dries or drys?
The third person singular form of the verb
dry is
dries, as in
She dries the dishes with a towel or
Just leave it there while it dries. However,
drys is also a word, although a much less common one—it’s an alternate plural form of the noun
dry, which has a few different meanings.
