Moisture Meaning
/ˈmɔɪs.t͡ʃə/Definition, CEFR level B1, pronunciation, examples, and quiz.
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Definition
nounThat which moistens or makes damp or wet; exuding fluid; liquid in small quantity.
nounThe state of being moist.
Sentence Examples
If your windows are not airtight, moisture will seep in.
Plant growth and productivity react sharply to a complex combination of temperature and moisture.
The soil needs to retain moisture during the dry summer.
Synonyms & Antonyms
Synonyms:
Antonyms:
None
CEFR Practice Quiz
The morning dew added extra ____ to the air, making everything feel damp.
CEFR Practice Quiz (Alternate)
The basement was filled with an unpleasant smell of damp because of the high amount of ____ in the old stone walls.
Word Origin & History
From Middle English moisture, from Old French moistour (“moisture, dampness, wetness”). Compare French moiteur.
Literary Quotations & Historical Citations
"I cannot weep; for all my body’s moisture
Scarce serves to quench my furnace-burning heart:"
— c. 1591–1592 (date written), William Shakespeare, “The Third Part of Henry the Sixt, […]”, in Mr. William Shakespeares Comedies, Histories, & Tragedies […] (First Folio), London: […] Isaac Iaggard, and Ed[ward] Blount, published 1623, →OCLC, [Act II, scene i]:
"And some [seed] fell upon a rock; and as soon as it was sprung up, it withered away, because it lacked moisture."
— 1611, The Holy Bible, […] (King James Version), London: […] Robert Barker, […], →OCLC, Luke 8:6:
"[…] Nicholas Nickleby’s eyes were dimmed with a moisture that might have been taken for tears."
— 1838 March – 1839 October, Charles Dickens, chapter 7, in The Life and Adventures of Nicholas Nickleby, London: Chapman and Hall, […], published 1839, →OCLC:
"[…] as she arched her neck she actually licked her lips like an animal, till I could see in the moonlight the moisture shining on the scarlet lips and on the red tongue as it lapped the white sharp teeth."
— 1897, Bram Stoker, “Jonathan Harker’s Journal—continued”, in Dracula, New York, N.Y.: Modern Library, →OCLC, chapter III, page 39:
"The sage—low-growing and shrubby—could hold its place on the mountain slopes and on the plains, and within its small gray leaves it could hold moisture enough to defy the thieving winds."
— 1962, Rachel Carson, chapter 6, in Silent Spring, Boston: Houghton Mifflin, page 65:
Explore More B1 Vocabulary Words
CEFR Practice Quiz
The morning dew added extra ____ to the air, making everything feel damp.
CEFR Practice Quiz (Alternate)
The basement was filled with an unpleasant smell of damp because of the high amount of ____ in the old stone walls.