dry eye

English

Pronunciation

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Noun

dry eye (countable and uncountable, plural dry eyes)

1. (uncountable) An eye disease caused by decreased tear production; short for dry eye syndrome.
2. (countable) An eye which is affected by this disease.
3. (idiomatic) An eye which is not crying, i.e. someone emotionally unmoved.

   There wasn't a dry eye in the audience after her heart-wrenching performance.

Usage notes

Someone who is not crying

dry eye is a negative polarity item, most commonly found in negative sentences.

Quotations

• For quotations using this term, see Citations:dry eye.

Related terms

• dry-eyed