portly

adjective

ˈpȯrt-lē How to pronounce portly (audio)
Definition of portlynext
1
as in plump
having an excess of body fat a portly gentleman who loved to cook for his family and friends

Synonyms & Similar Words

Relevance

Antonyms & Near Antonyms
2
as in imposing
having or showing a formal and serious or reserved manner walked with the portly grace of the grande dame that she was

Synonyms & Similar Words

Antonyms & Near Antonyms

Example Sentences

Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
Recent Examples of portly The portly, silver-haired son of a Breton fisherman viewed himself as a man with a mission — to keep France French under the banner of the National Front. — Thomas Adamson, Los Angeles Times, 7 Jan. 2025 Oh, and being a bit on the portly side couldn't hurt one's chance's, either. — Eric Lagatta, USA TODAY, 22 July 2023 In Facebook groups dedicated to Texas barbecue fandom, a recently popular meme shows a portly man dancing on a stripper pole. — Elizabeth Findell, WSJ, 9 Mar. 2022 That’s when the portly orphan, who was riding in the van with her, slices off her face to wear it as his own. — Owen Gleiberman, Variety, 18 Feb. 2022 See All Example Sentences for portly
Recent Examples of Synonyms for portly
  1. plump
  2. imposing
  3. fat
  4. distinguished
  5. round
Adjective
  • The brothel is huge and painted black, like a plump beetle luxuriating in the sun, and the opulence of its internal decoration is matched by Kate herself.
    — Roxana Hadadi, Vulture, 1 Oct. 2026
  • Wagyu beef and lamb koobideh are formed into bite-size, plump spheres doused in a sweet tomato and sumac glaze.
    — Jenn Harris, Los Angeles Times, 1 Oct. 2026
Definition of plump
Adjective
  • When houses squeeze into their lots, vehicles grow more imposing, and storefronts battle for attention, the problem is no longer simply whether something is beautiful or ugly.
    — Debbie Millman, Time, 18 Aug. 2026
  • Propaganda posters from the era from both the democratic United States and the Axis powers surround the imposing, heavy-duty boots, covered in animal hair and insulation.
    — Douglas Markowitz, Miami Herald, 14 July 2026
Definition of imposing
Adjective
  • The role required Cruise to transform with prosthetics (including a fat suit and thinning white hair) and a put-on Southern accent, but, mostly, the absurdist satire demanded his full acting range.
    — Angelique Jackson, Variety, 30 Sep. 2026
  • Four add-ons—acupuncture, intralipid infusion (fat injections intended to regulate the immune system) and platelet-rich-plasma (PRP), or blood injections, in the uterus and ovaries—had either mixed evidence or low quality data backing them up.
    — Jackie Flynn Mogensen, Scientific American, 30 Sep. 2026
Definition of fat
Adjective
  • Respini joined the institution three years ago as deputy director and director of curatorial programs after a distinguished tenure as chief curator of the Institute of Contemporary Art, Boston.
    — News Desk, Artforum, 28 Sep. 2026
  • Solange Knowles, sister of Beyoncé and a distinguished musician and artist in her own right, will unveil a large-scale sculpture on New York’s High Line as part of an event staged later this week by Google.
    — Andy Battaglia for ARTnews, Robb Report, 23 Sep. 2026
Definition of distinguished
Adjective
  • The toys are translucent, round squishy balls with cartoon faces, glitter-like particles and water beads inside.
    — Sacbee.com, Sacbee.com, 2 Oct. 2026
  • And at the top tier, above Skydance, were the Paramount mountain, the Warners shield, and … the round DC bullet.
    — Borys Kit, HollywoodReporter, 2 Oct. 2026
Definition of round

Browse Nearby Words

portliness
portly
portmanteau
See all Nearby Words

Cite this Entry

“Portly.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/portly. Accessed 4 Oct. 2026.

Copy Citation
Last Updated: - Updated example sentences
Love words? Need even more definitions?

Subscribe to America's largest dictionary and get thousands more definitions and advanced search—ad free!

More from Merriam-Webster

Word of the Day

Listen to the pronunciation of adventitious

See Definitions and Examples »

Popular in Grammar & Usage

See More

Do You Need a New Language Peeve?

More Commonly Mispronounced Words

Merriam-Webster’s Great Big List of Words You Love to Hate

'A' or 'an'? What about before 'h'? An Indefinite Article Guide

Why is '-ed' sometimes pronounced at the end of a word?
See More

Popular in Wordplay

See More

7 Great Ways to Say 'Great'

The Longest Long Words List

9 Words That Sound Like Insults But Aren't

The Words of the Week - Oct. 2

12 Lovely and Unusual Words for the Natural World
See More

Popular

See More

Do You Need a New Language Peeve?

7 Great Ways to Say 'Great'

The Longest Long Words List
See More

Games & Quizzes

See All
Play Quordle: Guess all four words in a limited number of tries. Each of your guesses must be a real 5-letter word.
Quordle Can you solve 4 words at once?
Play Blossom: Solve today's spelling word game by finding as many words as you can using just 7 letters. Longer words score more points.
Blossom Pick the best words!
Play Missing Letter: a crossword with a twist. Each of the 25 puzzle words start with a different letter of the alphabet. Which letter is missing?
The Missing Letter A daily crossword with a twist
name tags
Words Named After People Quiz Find out who’s behind "leotard," "morphine," an...
See All