winsome
adjective
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Winsome comes from Old English wynn, meaning "joy" or "pleasure," which was altered in spelling to win (with the same meaning). That win is obsolete and is unrelated to today's win—referring to victory and coming from Old English winnan, "to struggle, suffer, or acquire." The adjective winning, meaning "tending to please or delight," as in "a winning smile" or "winning ways," is believed to be from the victorious win.
Synonyms
Examples of winsome in a Sentence
Angie Han, The Hollywood Reporter, 8 Aug. 2024
Amsterdam’s Jordaan district, within the central ring of canals but traditionally a quiet residential area, is now frequented by selfie-snapping visitors — many of them drawn by rapturous descriptions on social media of the neighborhood’s winsome domesticity.
—Laura King, Los Angeles Times, 11 Aug. 2024
Her short, winsome and unpretentious solo set did an even nicer job of setting a table than all the servers busy setting up dinners in the Bowl’s box areas.
—Chris Willman, Variety, 24 July 2024
The Trump candidacy provides plenty of reasons for Democrats to wince, but one winsome lesson: nothing lasts forever, not even a terrible showing that has prompted recriminations aplenty inside Democratic circles.
—Philip Elliott, TIME, 10 July 2024
See all Example Sentences for winsome 
These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'winsome.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.
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Cite this Entry
“Winsome.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/winsome. Accessed 11 Sep. 2024.
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winsome
adjective
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