fulsome

adjective ful·some \ ˈfu̇l-səm \

Updated on: 28 Apr 2018

Definition of fulsome

1 a : characterized by abundance : copious

describes in fulsome detail
—G. N. Shuster

fulsome bird life. The feeder overcrowded
—Maxine Kumin

b : generous in amount, extent, or spirit

the passengers were fulsome in praise of the plane's crew
—Don Oliver

a fulsome victory for the far left
—Bruce Rothwell

the greetings have been fulsome, the farewells tender
—Simon Gray

c : being full and well developed

she was in generally fulsome, limpid voice
—Thor Eckert, Jr.

2 : aesthetically, morally, or generally offensive

fulsome lies and nauseous flattery
—William Congreve

the devil take thee for a … fulsome rogue
—George Villiers

3 : exceeding the bounds of good taste : overdone

the fulsome chromium glitter of the escalators dominating the central hall
—Lewis Mumford

4 : excessively complimentary or flattering : effusive

an admiration whose extent I did not express, lest I be thought fulsome
—A. J. Liebling

—

fulsomely

adverb

—

fulsomeness

noun

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Using fulsome

The senses shown above are the chief living senses of fulsome. Sense 2, which was a generalized term of disparagement in the late 17th century, is the least common of these. Fulsome became a point of dispute when sense 1, thought to be obsolete in the 19th century, began to be revived in the 20th. The dispute was exacerbated by the fact that the large dictionaries of the first half of the century missed the beginnings of the revival. Sense 1 has not only been revived but has spread in its application and continues to do so. The chief danger for the user of fulsome is ambiguity. Unless the context is made very clear, the reader or hearer cannot be sure whether such an expression as "fulsome praise" is meant in sense 1b or in sense 4.

Examples of fulsome in a Sentence

the player's fulsome praise for the coach showed just how hard he was trying to be named captain of the team
grateful survivors who were fulsome in their praise of the rescue team

Recent Examples of fulsome from the Web

There’s Trump’s habit of opening conversations with fulsome (and seemingly insincere) praise, his habit of saying everything is the greatest or the best.

— andy lewis, The Hollywood Reporter, "James Comey's 'A Higher Loyalty': Book Review," 16 Apr. 2018
The American and South Korean people have a right to know that behind the joint military exercises and fulsome summit rhetoric there is serious ideological disagreement here.

— isaac chotiner, Slate Magazine, "Sympathy for North Korea," 3 Jan. 2018
From my seat the balance favored Ma's fulsome tone by a slight margin; Ax's legato playing sounded a bit watery even with the lid on his Steinway fully opened.

— richard s. ginell, latimes.com, "Yo-Yo Ma, Leonidas Kavakos and Emanuel Ax: Brahms all-stars at Disney Hall," 5 Mar. 2018
When the accusations first surfaced, Mr. Kelly and others issued fulsome statements of support for their colleague.

— julie hirschfeld davis, katie rogers and maggie haberman, New York Times, "Top Trump Aides Are Said to Have Long Known About Abuse Accusations," 8 Feb. 2018
Buckley had fulsome praise for right-wing dictators like Francisco Franco.

— jonathan chait, Daily Intelligencer, "Donald Trump Is the Most Pure Conservative President Ever," 23 Feb. 2018
His fulsome praise shimmered online like spun gold.

— stu bykofsky, Philly.com, "Boston columnist U-turns on his love for Philly | Stu Bykofsky," 24 Jan. 2018
Williamson lavishes Pruitt with extensive, fulsome praise, while steering clear of the elephant in the room.

— jonathan chait, Daily Intelligencer, "National Review Shows Why Conservatives Outsourced Environmental Policy to Lobbyists and Kooks," 7 Jan. 2018
When a reporter asked if McConnell should be replaced as the GOP leader, the president offered far less than a fulsome endorsement and encouraged the press to ask him again in a few months.

— russell berman, The Atlantic, "A Remarriage of Convenience Between Donald Trump and Mitch McConnell," 16 Oct. 2017

These example sentences are selected automatically from various online news sources to reflect current usage of the word 'fulsome.' Views expressed in the examples do not represent the opinion of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.

You Don't Need to Get Negative About fulsome

There is a lot of confusion about exactly what fulsome means. Some critics disapprove of using it in its original copious sense because they feel that sense is not negative enough; they say that fulsome should always be at least mildly deprecatory. It's true that today fulsome is often used pejoratively to describe overly effusive language, but modern English writers still sometimes use it simply to mean abundant, or occasionally even in contexts where it is complimentary. Some writers go to the more negative extreme, using it for things that are offensive to normal tastes or sensibilities. To avoid misinterpretation, either be sure that the context in which you use the word makes the intended meaning clear or choose a different word.