Subscriber login


Forgot your password?

Library card login

Other

fulsome

Pronunciation: /ˈfʊls(ə)m/
Translate fulsome | into German | into Italian | into Spanish
Definition of fulsome

adjective

  • 1complimentary or flattering to an excessive degree:the press are embarrassingly fulsome in their appreciation
  • 2of large size or quantity; generous or abundant:the fulsome details of the later legend

Derivatives

fulsomely

adverb

fulsomeness

noun

Origin:

Middle English (in the sense 'abundant'): from full1 + -some1

Although the earliest use of fulsome (first recorded in the 13th century) was ‘generous or abundant’, this meaning is now regarded by some people as wrong. The correct meaning today is held to be ‘excessively complimentary or flattering’. However, the word is still often used in its original sense of ‘abundant’, especially in sentences such as she was fulsome in her praise for the people who organized it, and this use can give rise to ambiguity: for one speaker, fulsome praise may be a genuine compliment, whereas for others it will be interpreted as an insult.

fulsome in other Oxford dictionaries

Definition of fulsome in the US English dictionary
  |  Cite

Word of the day

epithalamium

/ ˌɛpɪθəˈleɪmɪəm /
noun
a song or poem celebrating a marriage …