Definition of WINSOME

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."

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 on the Web

But don’t be fooled: the actress is more than just a winsome clothes hanger. — Janelle Okwodu, Vogue, "Lily-Rose Depp Takes Chanel’s Bike Shorts For a Spin," 15 Nov. 2018 The cast — led by the charmingly winsome Mitchell Jarvis as Mitch, our stockbroker-cum-band reuniter, lover, dreamer, and Alex Brightman impersonator — performs it with loud conviction. — Aja Romano, Vox, "Gettin’ the Band Back Together is a giant musical comedy dad joke. To hate it is to hate joy.," 28 Aug. 2018 There’s the winsome barista, Tara (Vanessa Hudgens), caught in a love triangle with a hunky vet, Dr. Mike (Michael Cassidy), and an altruistic but nerdy dog-rescue-center owner, Garrett (Jon Bass). — Katie Walsh, The Seattle Times, "Pups lift the doldrums of ‘Dog Days’," 7 Aug. 2018 Camille Preaker, our protagonist, is more winsome than Libby Day, but only incidentally (and only incrementally). — A.j. Finn, chicagotribune.com, "Gillian Flynn's 'Sharp Objects' gives women permission to be bad," 13 July 2018 And winsome twinkles shine through the blackness throughout, thanks in no small part to Offutt’s keen ear and eye. — New York Times, "A Novel of Kentucky Noir, So Humane It’s Bathed in Light," 23 May 2018 Maine College of Art’s Golaleh Yazdani delivers a winsome animation and Krystle Brown, of the School of the Museum of Fine Arts at Tufts University, has a hypnotic video of a ritual amid urban rubble. — Cate Mcquaid, BostonGlobe.com, "When student work is well worth studying," 4 July 2018 Is there any performer more winsome and charismatic than Mr. Cumming? — Kasia Pilat, New York Times, "5 Comedy Shows to Catch in N.Y.C. This Weekend," 14 June 2018 By then the winsome journeywoman had won over the crowd. — Jon Wertheim, SI.com, "Camila Giorgi Has Talent to Stay on Tour, But Finding Finances a Struggle," 10 Jan. 2014

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.