moist

[moist] /mɔɪst/

adjective, moister, moistest.

moderately or slightly wet; damp.

(of the eyes) tearful.

accompanied by or connected with liquid or moisture.

(of the air) having high humidity.

Origin

1325-75; Middle English moiste < Middle French; connected with Latin mūcidus mucid

Related forms

moistful, adjective

moistless, adjective

moistly, adverb

moistness, noun

overmoist, adjective

semimoist, adjective

Can be confused

damp, dampen, moist (see synonym study at damp)

Synonyms

1. dank. See damp.

Antonyms

1, 2. dry.

Examples from the web for moist

The clean, moist air then continues its journey until it encounters a series of vertical condensing pipes.
moist places, such as streamsides, in more or less open forest or in coastal scrub.
Except one: it had moist lips, glossy hair and vivid eyes that blinked slowly.
Be sure to keep the plants moist until you're ready to set them out.
As moist sea air is lifted to the crest of the waves, it cools and condensation forms a cloud.
Cut through layers of creamy white icing to reveal moist layers of bright red cake.
moist soils, especially along canyons and mountain slopes in coniferous forests.
If proven, the biotic-pump hypothesis could explain how big rainforests far from oceans stay so moist.
Then the novice potters set to work, plunging their hands into moist clay.
The storm in the northern cell began looking anemic as the new line of storms cut off its supply of warm, moist air.

British Dictionary definitions for moist

moist

/mɔɪst/

adjective

slightly damp or wet

saturated with or suggestive of moisture

Derived Forms

moistly, adverb
moistness, noun

Word Origin

C14: from Old French, ultimately related to Latin mūcidus musty, from mūcusmucus

Word Origin and History for moist

adj.

late 14c., "moist, wet; well-irrigated," from Old French moiste "damp, wet, soaked" (13c., Modern French moite), from Vulgar Latin *muscidus "moldy," also "wet," from Latin mucidus "slimy, moldy, musty," from mucus "slime" (see mucus). Alternative etymology [Diez] is from Latin musteus "fresh, green, new," literally "like new wine," from musteum "new wine" (see must (n.1)). If this wasn't the source, it influenced the form of the other word in Old French. Related: Moistly; moistness.