yeasty

adjective

ˈyē-stē 

ˈē-stē

yeastier; yeastiest

1

: of, relating to, or resembling yeast

a yeasty flavor

2

a

: immature, unsettled

b

: marked by change

a yeasty period in history

c

: full of vitality

d

: frivolous sense 1a

e

: frivolous sense 2

yeastiness

ˈyē-stē-nəs 

ˈē-

noun

Did you know?

The word yeast has existed in English for as long as the language has existed. Spellings have varied over time—in Middle English it was yest and in Old English gist or giest—but the word's meaning has remained basically the same for centuries. In its first documented English uses in the 1500s, the adjective yeasty described people or things with a yellowish or frothy appearance similar to the froth that forms on the top of fermented beverages (such as beers or ales). Since then, a number of extended figurative senses of yeasty have surfaced, all of which play in some way or another on the excitable, chemical nature of fermentation, such as by connoting unsettled activity or significant change.

Synonyms

• goofy
• silly
• giddy
• futile

Examples of yeasty in a Sentence

The kitchen had a yeasty odor.

the yeasty chatter at a cocktail party on New Year's Eve

Recent Examples on the Web

Sap has a yeasty or sour odor, indicating bacterial or fungal disease. —Mary Marlowe Leverette, Southern Living, 15 Oct. 2025

Which of his four adult children will pick up his yeasty mantle? —Savannah Salazar, Vulture, 27 Sep. 2025

The finish leans a bit tacky for my taste and there is a faint yeasty scent (probably due to the marine ferment). —Venus Wong, Refinery29, 14 Aug. 2025

As the bourbon opens up, additional aromas of yeasty, tangy unbaked sourdough bread, cornmeal cake and baking spices of cinnamon, nutmeg and clove emerge. —Joseph V Micallef, Forbes.com, 13 Aug. 2025

Word History

First Known Use

1598, in the meaning defined at sense 1

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