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# dryness

noun (dryness — uncountable)

«dryness» in the English dictionary: everyday — its meanings, how the lessons use it, and examples, each with its tree on Mova.

## Everyday

1. Dryness is being dry, having little or no water or wetness. [tree →](https://mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/D/dryness/#m1)
2. Dryness of skin, eyes or mouth is when they feel dry and uncomfortable. [tree →](https://mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/D/dryness/#m2)
3. Dryness of humour is a quiet, serious-faced way of being funny. [tree →](https://mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/D/dryness/#m3)

### In the lessons

Science and geography: dryness of deserts and soil, drought. Health: dry skin, eyes and lips, drinking water. In writing, dry humour. Phrases: dryness of the soil, skin dryness, dryness of the air.

### Examples

- The dryness of the desert means few plants can grow. [tree →](https://mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/D/dryness/#x1)
- The dryness of the soil showed we needed to water the beans. [tree →](https://mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/D/dryness/#x2)
- Lip balm helps with dryness in winter. [tree →](https://mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/D/dryness/#x3)
- The dryness of the air made my eyes itch. [tree →](https://mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/D/dryness/#x4)
- Cacti survive dryness by storing water. [tree →](https://mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/D/dryness/#x5)
- I liked the dryness of his jokes. [tree →](https://mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/D/dryness/#x6)
- His very sorrow and melancholy did but increase the comic dryness of his sharply-cut features, and increased the laughter of the audience, who showered plaudits on their favourite. [tree →](https://mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/D/dryness/#x7)

### Note

Uncountable. Spelling keeps the y: dry + ness (not «driness»), although dried and drier change it. Opposite: wetness, moisture, damp.

## On Mova

- [Trees and pragmatics of «dryness» in the school dictionary](https://mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/D/dryness/): every meaning and example parsed by Mova, with its dependency tree and frames.
- [«dryness» in the school dictionary](https://mova.elamur.ai/free/en/dictionaries/school/w/dryness.html) on Mova free.