# sweet

> English word · Adjective · IPA /swiːt/ · frequency rank #1,322

## Definitions
1. Tasting of sugars.
2. Retaining a portion of sugar.
3. Not of a salty taste.
4. Of a pleasant smell.
5. Not decaying, fermented, rancid, sour, spoiled, or stale.
6. Of a pleasant sound.
7. Of a pleasing disposition.
8. Of a helpful disposition.
9. Free from excessive unwanted substances like acid or sulphur.
10. Very pleasing; agreeable.
11. Doing well; in a good or happy position.
12. Romantically fixated; enamored with; fond of.
13. Fresh; not salt or brackish.
14. Alkaline.
15. Pleasing to the eye; beautiful; mild and attractive; fair.
16. An intensifier.

## Etymology
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”), German Low German sööt (“sweet”), German süß (“sweet”), Danish sød (“sweet”), Swedish söt (“sweet”), Norwegian søt (“sweet”), Icelandic sætur (“sweet”), Latin suāvis, Sanskrit स्वादु (svādú), Ancient Greek ἡδύς (hēdús). Doublet of suave.

## Easily confused with
- **swot** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/sweet-vs-swot)
- **swift** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/sweet-vs-swift)
- **swept** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/sweet-vs-swept)
- **swell** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/sweet-vs-swell)
- **sweets** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/sweet-vs-sweets)
- **sweety** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/sweet-vs-sweety)
- **sweetie** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/sweet-vs-sweetie)
- **sweetly** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/sweet-vs-sweetly)
- **sweeten** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/sweet-vs-sweeten)
- **see** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/see-vs-sweet)
- **set** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/set-vs-sweet)
- **seen** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/seen-vs-sweet)
- **sent** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/sent-vs-sweet)
- **seem** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/seem-vs-sweet)
- **seat** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/seat-vs-sweet)
- **seek** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/seek-vs-sweet)
- **sees** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/sees-vs-sweet)
- **seed** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/seed-vs-sweet)
- **sept** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/sept-vs-sweet)
- **sect** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/sect-vs-sweet)

## Common misspellings (7)
`sewet`, `ssweet`, `sweett`, `swet`, `swete`, `swweet`, `wseet`

## Source
Compiled from Wiktionary via kaikki.org (CC BY-SA). Data vintage: 2026-05-06.
Canonical page: https://plainspell.com/en/word/sweet