semi-sweet

IPA/ˌsemiˈswiːt/
IPA/ˌsemiˈswiːt/

semi-sweet — adjective

1. tasting only a little sweet, with a touch of bitterness behind the sugar

1.adjectiveB2
Definition

tasting only a little sweet, with a touch of bitterness behind the sugar

Example

Kwame melted some semi-sweet chocolate to pour over the warm pancakes.

semi-sweet + food noun (chocolate)

The bakery near the harbour sells small semi-sweet cookies every Friday morning.

Common collocations
  • semi-sweet chocolate
  • semi-sweet wine
  • semi-sweet chips
Synonyms
Antonyms

Grammar Patterns

semi-sweet + food noun

Usage Note

Almost always used before a food or drink noun (chocolate, wine, cookies), describing a flavour midway between sugary and plain. Rarely used after 'be'.

Common Mistakes

This coffee is very semi-sweet.
This coffee is fairly sweet.
'semi-sweet' is not a degree of sweetness you can scale with 'very'; it names a fixed midpoint between sweet and bitter.

Word family

Synonym discussion

Sense: adjective/1

All three words describe food or drink that is only mildly sweet, but the balance differs. 'Semi-sweet' sits at the midpoint: there is clear sugar, yet a faint bitterness keeps it from being a dessert-level treat, as with semi-sweet chocolate used in baking. 'Bittersweet' tips further toward the bitter end — you notice the sharp, slightly dark taste first, then the sweetness behind it. 'Lightly sweetened' is the plainest, most everyday choice; it simply means a small amount of sugar was added, with no comment on bitterness at all. A cook reaching for baking chocolate would ask for semi-sweet; a person describing strong dark chocolate might say bittersweet; a label on yogurt or tea would more likely read lightly sweetened.

semi-sweet ↗bittersweetlightly sweetened

Common collocations

Nouns

Phrases

  • semi-sweet chocolate chips

Etymology

LatinEnglish

A compound of the prefix 'semi-', meaning 'half' or 'partly', and the adjective 'sweet'. 'Semi-' comes from Latin and is used in English to mark something that is only partway to a full state, so 'semi-sweet' literally describes a taste that is only partly sweet. The term became common in the twentieth century, especially on labels for chocolate and wine.

First known use

1943

1943, in the meaning defined above