Emily Dickinson Lexicon

DRY'NESS, n.

1. Destitution of moisture; want of water or other fluid; siccity; aridity; aridness; as, the dryness of a soil; dryness of the road.
2. Want of rain; as, dryness of weather.
3. Want of juice or succulence; as, dryness of the bones or fibers. – Arbuthnot.
4. Want of succulence or greenness; as, the dryness of hay or corn.
5. Barrenness; jejuneness; want of ornament or pathos; want of that which enlivens and entertains; as, the dryness of style or expression; the dryness of a subject.
6. Want of feeling or sensibility in devotion; want of ardor; as, dryness of spirit. – Taylor.