pastelike

Pastelike is an adjective used to describe something that has the consistency, texture, or appearance of paste. A pastelike substance is typically thick, cohesive, and spreadable, occupying a viscosity between a solid and a liquid.

Origin and usage: The word is formed from paste plus the suffix -like. It is used across disciplines to convey a similarity to paste rather than a precise category. In everyday language, it often refers to food textures or to materials with sticky, gluey characteristics.

Applications: In cooking and food science, pastelike textures occur in fruit pastes, nut pastes, sauces reduced to a thick spread, or mashed vegetables. The term can describe foods that have not fully formed a paste but resemble one in mouthfeel or appearance. In materials science and construction, pastelike materials include cement paste, clay slip, or polymer pastes—semi-solid mixtures with high viscosity used as binders or additives. In art and digital media, pastelike color palettes or brushwork describe soft, desaturated hues and diffuse edges reminiscent of traditional pastel artworks, while not strictly pastel in pigment composition.