winsome

adjective win·some \ ˈwin(t)-səm \

Updated on: 24 Mar 2018

Definition of winsome

1 : generally pleasing and engaging often because of a childlike charm and innocence

a winsome smile

2 : cheerful, lighthearted

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winsomely

adverb

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winsomeness

noun

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Examples of winsome in a Sentence

He had a winsome, boyish smile.
she was a bright, winsome gamine who could draw a smile out of anyone

Recent Examples of winsome from the Web

The winsome animatronic redhead that posed seductively on the auction block now will be front-and-center as a pirate, bearing a firearm and a more modest outfit.

— scott craven, azcentral, "Disneyland's Pirates of the Caribbean is ditching brides-for-sale scene," 16 Mar. 2018
The orphaned baby sea otter was as sad and winsome as any cartoon animal Disney ever put on screen.

— gogo lidz, Newsweek, "How Aquariums Can Actually Save Animals in the Wild," 21 Sep. 2015
There’s a winsome and rare quality to Dogs At Large lead singer Sam Pirruccello’s voice.

— britt julious, chicagotribune.com, "Dogs At Large bringing a new touch to the Chicago sound," 15 Feb. 2018
But there was a guilelessness about her that was winsome.

— tim funk, charlotteobserver, "What happened to Tammy Faye Bakker after PTL's fall? | Charlotte Observer," 15 Feb. 2018
The Mar Mattai monastery clings to the side of a steep mountain, and on a clear day a visitor can stand against its fortresslike walls and discern far below the winsome farmlands of Upper Mesopotamia.

— tim neville, New York Times, "A Journey Into Iraqi Kurdistan," 29 Jan. 2018
The soft-spoken Mr. Yamazaki and the winsome Ms. Nishimura, who met 20 years ago in their native Japan, make for an entertaining couple.

— gia kourlas, New York Times, "A Dance of Vaporizing Bodies, With a Nod to Butoh," 12 Dec. 2017
Hansen boasts a winsome smirk, but his face isn’t exactly one that audiences associate with prestige entertainment.

— inkoo kang, Slate Magazine, "YouTube Red Desperately Needs “Prestige”," 8 Dec. 2017
These veiled emotions are most apparent here in his portraits of winsome youths.

— richard b. woodward, WSJ, "‘In the Beginning: Minor White’s Oregon Photographs’ Review: Committing Himself to Portland," 14 Dec. 2017

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

Did You Know?

Winsome began as "wynsum" a thousand years ago. It was formed from "wynn," the Old English word for "joy" or "pleasure," and the suffix -sum, an older form of the "-some" we see today in many adjectives, such as "awesome," "irksome," and "lonesome." "Wynn" later became win, meaning "pleasure," but we haven't used that noun since the 17th century. We do, however, use another word that has a "pleasing" connection and is related, albeit distantly, to "winsome." "Winning" ("tending to please or delight," as in "a winning smile" or "winning ways"), the present participle of the familiar verb "win," is from Old English winnan, meaning "to struggle." Both "winnan" and "wynn" are thought to be related to Latin venus, which means, among other things, "charm."