pulchritudinous
Americanadjective
Usage
What does pulchritudinous mean? Pulchritudinous is an adjective that means physically beautiful or attractive. Pulchritudinous is a grandiose way of saying someone or something is good-looking. It’s quite rare and, for that reason, usually used for humorous effect. Example: The makeup artist said my epidermis was pulchritudinous, which I guess means I have nice skin.
Etymology
Origin of pulchritudinous
An Americanism dating back to 1875–80; from Latin pulchritūdin- (stem of pulchritūdō ) + -ous
Explanation
Even though it looks (and sounds) like it would describe a disease or a bad attitude, pulchritudinous actually describes a person of breathtaking, heartbreaking...beauty. Let's be honest: Your opportunities for using this word in casual conversation are probably pretty slim. But, just in case, let's do a quick run-down on the pronunciation: Pulchritudinous: "pul-kruh-TOO-di-nuhs." And one last note about this 15-letter, 5-syllable beast (which may win the award for least-beautiful word meaning "beautiful"): It's only used to describe people.
Vocabulary lists containing pulchritudinous
More Positive Words to Describe a Person
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Call of Beauty: Synonyms for "Beautiful"
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The Crossover
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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.
