sweet

A2 Topic:Senses & Perception

US /swit/ UK /swiːt/ See IPA manual

adv adj Freq #637

Meanings

1

adj
Having the taste of sugar.

This apple is really sweet and juicy.
2

adj
Kind, gentle, and pleasant.

It was very sweet of you to remember my birthday.
3

adj
Pleasant to the senses, such as a smell or sound.

The sweet song of the bird filled the garden.

Thesaurus

Synonyms

1 adj · having the taste of sugar. sugary

2 adj · kind, gentle, and pleasant. gratifying

More nectarealnectareannectarine nectarous sappysweetsome

Opposites

bitter decaying dry fermented lamenonsweetrancid salty savoury sour spoiled stale

Word family

Forms sweetersweetestsweetishsweets

Derived forms bittersweeteye-sweetflower-sweethoney-sweetmeadowsweetsemi-sweetsemisweetsickly-sweetsour-sweetsticky-sweetsugar-sweetsweet-after-death

Related forms sweetness

Common collocations

sweet smell Adjective + noun

Etymology

Etymology tree Proto-Indo-European *sweh₂d- Proto-Indo-European *-us Proto-Indo-European *swéh₂dus Proto-Germanic *swōtuz Proto-Germanic *-jaz Proto-West Germanic *-ī Proto-West Germanic *swōtī Old English swēte Middle English swete English sweet From Middle English swete, from Old English swēte (“sweet”), from Proto-West Germanic *swōtī, from Proto-Germanic *swōtuz (“sweet”), from Proto-Indo-European *swéh₂dus (“sweet”). Cognate and synonymous with Scots sweit (“sweet”), North Frisian sweete (“sweet”), Saterland Frisian swäit (“sweet”), West Frisian swiet (“sweet”), Dutch zoet (“sweet”), Germ…

*sweh₂d- Proto-Indo-European swete Middle English swēte Old English *swōtī Proto-West Germanic *swōtuz Proto-Germanic *swéh₂dus Proto-Indo-European

View etymology graph ->

Topics

Senses & Perception

# sweet

**Type:** Word
**Level:** A2
**Part of speech:** adv, adj
**IPA (US):** swit
**IPA (UK):** swiːt
**Frequency rank:** 637

## Meanings
1. Having the taste of sugar.
2. Kind, gentle, and pleasant.
3. Pleasant to the senses, such as a smell or sound.

## Examples
- This apple is really sweet and juicy.
- It was very sweet of you to remember my birthday.
- The sweet song of the bird filled the garden.

## Synonyms
- nectareal
- nectarean
- nectarine
- nectarous
- sappy
- sweetsome

## Antonyms
- bitter
- decaying
- dry
- fermented
- lame
- nonsweet
- rancid
- salty
- savoury
- sour
- spoiled
- stale

## Derived Forms
- bittersweet
- eye-sweet
- flower-sweet
- honey-sweet
- meadowsweet
- semi-sweet
- semisweet
- sickly-sweet
- sour-sweet
- sticky-sweet
- sugar-sweet
- sweet-after-death

## Related Forms
- sweetness

## Roots and Affixes
- Root: *sweh₂d-
- Root: swete
- Root: swēte
- Root: *swōtī
- Root: *swōtuz
- Root: *swéh₂dus

## Etymology
Etymology tree Proto-Indo-European *sweh₂d- Proto-Indo-European *-us Proto-Indo-European *swéh₂dus Proto-Germanic *swōtuz Proto-Germanic *-jaz Proto-West Germanic *-ī Proto-West Germanic *swōtī Old English swēte Middle English swete English sweet From Middle English swete, from Old English swēte (“sweet”), from Proto-West Germanic *swōtī, from Proto-Germanic *swōtuz (“sweet”), from Proto-Indo-European *swéh₂dus (“sweet”). Cognate and synonymous with Scots sweit (“sweet”), North Frisian sweete (“sweet”), Saterland Frisian swäit (“sweet”), West Frisian swiet (“sweet”), Dutch zoet (“sweet”), Germ…

## AI Etymology
Sweet is from Middle English swete, from Old English swēte (“sweet”), from Proto-West Germanic *swōtī, from Proto-Germanic *swōtuz (“sweet”), from Proto-Indo-European *swéh₂dus (“sweet”). In present-day use, it can mean having the taste of sugar, or kind, gentle, and pleasant. Derived formations include bittersweet, eye-sweet, flower-sweet, honey-sweet, meadowsweet.

## Topics
- Senses & Perception

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