moistadjective
BAD: Basement flats are often dark and moist.
GOOD: Basement flats are often dark and damp.
Usage Note:moist = slightly wet, especially in a pleasant way: 'The bread was still nice and moist.' 'These plants prefer a warm, moist atmosphere.'
damp = slightly wet, especially in a cold and unpleasant way: 'Our hotel room felt cold and damp.' 'On damp days, we have to dry the washing indoors.'
[TahlilGaran] Dictionary of Common Errors ▲
damp slightly wet:
Iron the shirt while it is still damp. a damp clothmoist slightly wet, especially when this is pleasant or how something should be:
a moist chocolate cake The cream helps to keep your skin moist. Make sure that the soil is moist.clammy slightly wet and sticky, in an unpleasant way – used especially about someone’s skin:
His hands were cold and clammy.humid hot and damp in an unpleasant way:
Florida can be very humid in the summer.muggy warm and damp and making you feel uncomfortable:
This muggy weather gives me a headache.dank dank air is cold and damp and smells unpleasant – used especially about the air inside a room:
The dank air smelled of stale sweat. [TahlilGaran] English Thesaurus ▲
wet covered in water or another liquid:
I’ve just washed my hair and it’s still wet. You’d better change out of those wet clothes.damp slightly wet:
Wipe the surfaces with a damp cloth. The sheets are still a little damp. The grass was still too damp to sit on.moist slightly wet, especially in a pleasant way – used about soil, food, or about someone’s skin or eyes:
It’s important to keep the soil moist. a delicious moist chocolate cake Her eyes became moist (=she was almost crying).clammy feeling slightly wet, cold, and sticky – used about someone’s skin, especially when they are nervous or ill:
He had clammy hands. Ruby was feverish and clammy with sweat.soggy unpleasantly wet and soft – used especially about food or the ground:
a bowl of soggy rice It had been raining hard and the ground was soggy underfoot.humid/muggy used when the weather is hot but the air feels wet in a way that makes you uncomfortable:
Summers in Tokyo are hot and humid. a hot muggy day the humid heat of a tropical forestsoaked [not before noun] very wet all the way through – used especially about people and their clothes:
It absolutely poured with rain and we got soaked. His shirt was soaked with blood.drenched [not before noun] very wet – used about a person or area after a lot of rain or water has fallen on them:
Everyone got drenched when a huge wave hit the boat. The garden was completely drenched after the rain.saturated extremely wet, and unable to take in any more water or liquid:
His bandage was saturated with blood. The floods were the result of heavy rainfall on already saturated soil.waterlogged /ˈwɔːtəlɒɡd $ ˈwɒːtərlɒːɡd, ˈwɑː-, -lɑːɡd/ used about ground that has water on its surface because it is so wet that it cannot take in any more:
The game was cancelled because the field was waterlogged.sodden British English very wet with water – used about clothes and the ground.
Sodden is less common than
soaked:
The ground was still sodden. He took off his sodden shirt.splash to make someone or something wet by making a lot of small drops of water fall onto them:
The kids were playing around in the pool, splashing each other. I accidentally splashed soup onto my shirt.soak to put something in water for a long time or to make something very wet – use this especially when something is put into water or the water comes up from underneath to make it wet:
Soak the beans overnight before cooking. The rain had come in through the bottom of our tent and completely soaked our clothes.drench to make someone or something extremely wet with a large amount of water – use this especially when water is poured or falls on something:
He drenched us all with the hose. Her shirt was drenched in sweat.saturate formal to completely cover or fill something with liquid, so that it is wet all the way through:
Heavy rains had saturated the ground.flood to cover an area of land with a large amount of water:
Farmers flood the fields in order to grow rice.moisten to make something slightly wet by putting a small amount of water or another liquid on it, especially to stop it from getting too dry:
Add just enough water to moisten the cake mixture. Tom paused and moistened his lips.dampen to make something slightly wet by putting a little water on it:
Rain came in through the window, dampening the curtains. [TahlilGaran] English Thesaurus ▲