1
chiefly British
a
: molasses
b
: a blend of molasses, invert sugar, and corn syrup used as syrup
called also golden syrup
2
: something (such as a tone of voice) heavily sweet and cloying
3
: a medicinal compound formerly in wide use as a remedy against poison
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Treacle begins in ancient Greece. The Greek word thēriakos, meaning "of a wild animal," came from thērion ("wild animal"). Since wild animals are often known to bite, these words gave rise to thēriakē, meaning "antidote against a poisonous bite." Latin borrowed thēriakē as theriaca. Those roots gave life to treacle referring to molasses (developing from the "antidote" sense). The "molasses" sense was extended to things excessively sweet or sentimental.
Examples of treacle in a Sentence
The book is ruined by all the treacle about his childhood.
Recent Examples on the Web
For the pair of galaxies, the hot gas cloud of ionized gas, filled with free electrons and which stretches for millions of light years around the cluster is like tumbling into a vat of treacle that then begins to scour the gas on the leading edge of the infalling galaxies, ablating it.
—
Keith Cooper, Space.com, 25 Sep. 2025
The treacle, in any case, obscures noble intentions.
—Jackson McHenry, Vulture, 19 Sep. 2025
From there, the plot pretzels itself into typical noir convolution, giving us an excuse to meet all sorts of characters, not least a shady local preacher played by Chris Evans, who uses his almost embarrassingly all-American good looks to convey treacle and snake oil.
—Daniel Bromfield, Mercury News, 29 Aug. 2025
The film never strains for coming-of-age treacle.
—Michelle Kung, EW.com, 18 Aug. 2025
See All Example Sentences for treacle
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Keith Cooper, Space.com, 25 Sep. 2025
The treacle, in any case, obscures noble intentions.
—Jackson McHenry, Vulture, 19 Sep. 2025
From there, the plot pretzels itself into typical noir convolution, giving us an excuse to meet all sorts of characters, not least a shady local preacher played by Chris Evans, who uses his almost embarrassingly all-American good looks to convey treacle and snake oil.
—Daniel Bromfield, Mercury News, 29 Aug. 2025
The film never strains for coming-of-age treacle.
—Michelle Kung, EW.com, 18 Aug. 2025
See All Example Sentences for treacle
Cite this Entry
“Treacle.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/treacle. Accessed 31 Oct. 2025.
Copy CitationMedical Definition
treacle
noun
trea·cle
ˈtrē-kəl 
: a medicinal compound formerly in wide use as a remedy against poison
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