G. N. ShusterMaxine KuminDon OliverBruce RothwellSimon GrayThor Eckert, Jr.William CongreveGeorge VilliersLewis MumfordA. J. Liebling
Using Fulsome: Usage Guide
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.
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You Don't Need to Get Negative About Fulsome
In the 19th century, fulsome was mostly a literary term used disapprovingly to describe excessive, insincere praise and flattery. This meaning is still current, but since the early 20th century fulsome has been increasingly used with far more positive meanings, among them “abundant, copious” and “full and well developed.” The result is some amount of confusion: a phrase like “fulsome praise” used today without clarifying context may rightly be understood to mean either “abundant praise” or “excessive and obsequious praise.” While some critics object to the pleasanter meanings of fulsome, they are in fact true to the word’s origins: when it was first used in the 14th century fulsome meant “abundant, copious.”
Examples of fulsome in a Sentence
New York Daily News Editorial Board, New York Daily News, 4 June 2025
But in his second term — rid of officials like former Defense Secretary James Mattis who pushed back on Trump’s impulses — the president is plowing full speed ahead with a more fulsome military display.
—Brett Samuels, The Hill, 28 May 2025
At the heart of the Axion, the full-range silicon dynamic driver uses innovative technology that blends a unique design and compact size that’s similar to a balanced armature driver but with the more fulsome sound quality of a dynamic driver.
—Mark Sparrow, Forbes.com, 7 Apr. 2025
For a more fulsome discussion of these predictions, check out our recent episode of the Remarkable Retail podcast.
—Steve Dennis, Forbes, 22 Jan. 2025
See All Example Sentences for fulsome
Cite this Entry
“Fulsome.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/fulsome. Accessed 13 Jun. 2025.
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fulsome
adjective
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