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
Peter Larsen, Oc Register, 24 Oct. 2025
The dilemmas of post-revolutionary life—in particular, the gap between fulsome propaganda and flawed realities—were efficiently captured, as usual, in the popular genre known as the anekdot.
—Benjamin Nathans
september 24, Literary Hub, 24 Sep. 2025
It was crafted for robust and fulsome flavor from start to finish.
—Gege Reed, The Courier-Journal, 2 Aug. 2025
Sadly, its five-year academic record is weak but can be turned around under stronger leadership that leverages the benefits of modern infrastructure and fulsome resources.
—Forrest Claypool, Chicago Tribune, 10 July 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 31 Oct. 2025.
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fulsome
adjective
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