spicy
Americanadjective
-
spicier,
comparative
-
spiciest
superlative
-
seasoned with or containing spice.
a spicy salad dressing.
-
characteristic or suggestive of spice.
-
of the nature of or resembling spice.
-
abounding in or yielding spices.
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aromatic or fragrant.
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piquant or pungent.
spicy criticism.
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of a slightly improper or risqué nature; somewhat sexy.
a spicy novel.
- Synonyms:
- improper, ribald, racy, suggestive
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Informal. full of spirit; lively.
adjective
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seasoned with or containing spice
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highly flavoured; pungent
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informal suggestive of scandal or sensation
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producing or yielding spices
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
Inflected Forms
Adjectives
Etymology
Origin of spicy
Explanation
Spicy things have a sharp, strong, pungent flavor. Hot chili peppers—and food that's made with them—are notoriously spicy. People who don't like spicy food might be hesitant to try an Indian, Thai, or Mexican restaurant, since the cuisines of those countries are known for being spicy. But if you love the way curries tingle on your tongue, then you're a fan of spicy dishes. Spicy is also used to mean "exciting but vulgar or inappropriate," like a spicy joke that's not suitable for school.
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.
See Examples For:
Even when the tomatoes are gone and the bread stall is picked clean, you can usually find some jar of something sharp, spicy and brined: giardiniera, hot peppers, spicy dills, pickled carrots.
From Salon ● Aug. 16, 2026
Spicy, sweet and curiously chewy, Chinese latiao -- literally "spicy strips" -- are made by cooking wheat flour dough at a high temperature and pressure.
From Barron's ● Aug. 14, 2026
The recall includes products such as pico de gallo salsa, several types of guacamole, burritos, spicy sandwiches and fresh sliced jalapenos.
From BBC ● Aug. 10, 2026
Scientists have long known that avocado trees live a somewhat spicy life, changing sexes depending on the time of day.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 5, 2026
I nod and take a bite of my keema, remembering the time my uncle told me that the spicy minced meat was his favorite dish when he was a kid.
From "Amina's Song" by Hena Khan
Food manufacturer Kalsec noted in its 2024 Beyond the Burn report that an increasing number of consumers were seeking out spicier flavors and hot foods.
From Salon ● Apr. 6, 2025
Sean Evans is best known for his YouTube show Hot Ones, where he interviews celebrities while they eat chicken wings that get progressively spicier.
From BBC ● Feb. 23, 2025
In short, researchers concluded there is some evidence of a relationship between microbes and the spiciness of mustard, but why mustard gets spicier in response to certain microbes remains unknown.
From Science Daily ● Apr. 22, 2024
While they didn’t have the menu-depicted hot consommé for dipping, the free salsa was far, far spicier than expected — as in, warming the whole body via a nearly head-exploding heat.
From Seattle Times ● Dec. 28, 2023
The difficulty of passing these from hand to hand only made the reading—and the writing—the spicier.
From The Grey Wig: Stories and Novelettes by Israel Zangwill
“The spice level on this album is high,” Swift said, as Fallon confirmed, “It’s the spiciest yet.”
From Salon ● Oct. 7, 2025
One of the spiciest dishes I’ve ever tasted was at Jitlada and they have a competition surrounding it.
From Los Angeles Times ● Dec. 20, 2024
Sept. 20, Mullenweg hosted a session that he previewed as being “one of my spiciest WordCamp presentations ever.”
From Slate ● Oct. 11, 2024
Shan Li’s little Yummy Meats & Deli is home to what might be Seattle’s spiciest chicken.
From Seattle Times ● Feb. 25, 2021
Julia’s now redder than the spiciest hot wings.
From "A Good Kind of Trouble" by Lisa Moore Ramée
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.
