doughy

The word doughy originally described something that literally resembled bread dough: soft, heavy, yielding, and lacking a firm structure. Today, it is still very common in the kitchen. It is most often used for baked goods that are still a little undercooked in the center. If you bite into bread, cake, or a pastry and the inside feels too soft and raw instead of properly baked, it can be described as doughy.

Beyond the bakery, doughy is often used to describe physical appearance, usually in a critical way. It refers to a body that lacks muscle definition and looks soft and flabby. "After a long winter of sitting on the couch, he felt his midsection becoming rather doughy." More specifically, it can describe a certain kind of face or complexion. A "doughy face" or "doughy complexion" suggests skin that is pale, soft, and lacking healthy color or clear definition.

The key to using doughy correctly is its link to softness without firmness. Whether you are talking about an underbaked cake, a soft body, or a pale face, the word suggests something thick, soft, and not fully firm or healthy-looking. It can be neutral or mildly negative for food, depending on context, but it usually sounds negative when it is used for people.