appetizing
Americanadjective
-
appealing to or stimulating the appetite; savory.
-
appealing; tempting.
adjective
Related Words
See palatable.
Other Word Forms
Etymology
Origin of appetizing
First recorded in 1645–55; appet(ite) + -ize + -ing 2, as translation of French appétissant
Explanation
Something that's appetizing looks or smells like it would taste delicious. An appetizing plate of cheesy nachos might make your mouth water. Use the adjective appetizing when you talk about food that's tempting or makes you hungry. The smell of freshly baked chocolate chip cookies is appetizing, and so is the summertime aroma of your neighbor's grill. Appetizing comes from the noun appetite, or "craving for food," from the Old French apetit, "appetite or desire." The Latin root is appetere, "long for, strive for, or grasp at."
Vocabulary lists containing appetizing
Simply Scrumptious! Synonyms for "Delicious"
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Words to Describe Food
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Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
Appetizing smells wafted from the open kitchen while I slurped an oyster topped with berry-infused granitas, washed down with a rhubarb and raspberry beer.
From Washington Post • Sep. 23, 2022
The standard-bearer for these mixed emotions might be Frankel’s Delicatessen & Appetizing, a corner shop on a stretch of Manhattan Avenue in Brooklyn, where Greenpoint meets Williamsburg.
From New York Times • Oct. 28, 2021
There will be a new store, Black Seed Appetizing, from Black Seed Bagels, with smoked fish in sandwiches and by the pound, tinned seafood, salads and pastries.
From New York Times • Sep. 3, 2019
A discussion of these follows: A. Appetizing Foods.—If the appetite needs stimulation, foods which have an appetizing effect may be used for the first course of meals.
From School and Home Cooking by Greer, Carlotta Cherryholmes
Appetizing appearance and flavour of the food 3.
From Ontario Teachers' Manuals: Household Management by Ontario. Ministry of Education
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
