Definitions
from The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, 5th Edition.
- adjective Excessively flattering or insincerely earnest. synonym: unctuous.
- adjective Disgusting or offensive.
- adjective Usage Problem Copious or abundant.
from The Century Dictionary.
- Full; full and plump; fat.
- Causing surfeit; cloying.
- Offensive from excess, as of praise or demonstrative affection; gross.
- Nauseous; offensive; disgusting.
- Lustful; wanton.
- Tending to obscenity; coarse: as, a fulsome epigram.
from the GNU version of the Collaborative International Dictionary of English.
- adjective obsolete Full; abundant; plenteous; not shriveled.
- adjective Offending or disgusting by overfullness, excess, or grossness; cloying; gross; nauseous; esp., offensive from excess of praise.
- adjective obsolete Lustful; wanton; obscene; also, tending to obscenity.
from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License.
- adjective
Offensive to good taste,tactless ,overzealous ,excessive . - adjective
Excessively flattering (connotinginsincerity ). - adjective
Abundant ,copious . - adjective Fully developed,
mature .
from WordNet 3.0 Copyright 2006 by Princeton University. All rights reserved.
- adjective unpleasantly and excessively suave or ingratiating in manner or speech
Etymologies
from The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, 4th Edition
from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License
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Examples
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V. i.112 (241,5) [as fat and fulsome] [W: flat] _Fat_ means _dull_; so we say a _fatheaded_ fellow; _fat_ likewise means _gross_, and is sometimes used for _obscene_; and _fat_ is more congruent to _fulsome_ than _flat_.
Notes to Shakespeare — Volume 01: Comedies Samuel Johnson 1746
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The word fulsome is itself becoming incomprehensible.
The Globe and Mail - Home RSS feed WARREN CLEMENTS 2012
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Whichever approach reviewers of Suite Française took — whether they followed the ‘lost book by dead writer’ angle, or played the French guilt card — they all used the limited space left after biography to indulge in fulsome but often strangely detached praise.
Book Reviewing 2010
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Holocaust survivor and winner of many literary awards and lauded in fulsome tones
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Holocaust survivor and winner of many literary awards and lauded in fulsome tones
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Holocaust survivor and winner of many literary awards and lauded in fulsome tones
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“He came to us in fulsome state and told us of thee a thing which Heaven forfend; and the slave added a lie which it befitteth not to repeat, Allah preserve thy youth and sound sense and tongue of eloquence, and forbid to come from thee aught of offense!”
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Never refer to a fulsome bosom unless you want to get slugged by an intelligent woman.
No Uncertain Terms William Safire 2003
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Never refer to a fulsome bosom unless you want to get slugged by an intelligent woman.
No Uncertain Terms William Safire 2003
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Never refer to a fulsome bosom unless you want to get slugged by an intelligent woman.
No Uncertain Terms William Safire 2003
oroboros commented on the word fulsome
Contranymic in the sense of fulsome praise being both negative (insincere, ironic) and positive (abundantly meritorious).
September 30, 2007
burntsox commented on the word fulsome
so what do you do with a contranym - do you use it smugly, knowing that you're right, or to you avoid for fear that no matter what you do you'll always be wrong.
October 6, 2007