corpulent
Americanadjective
adjective
Other Word Forms
Etymology
Origin of corpulent
1350–1400; Middle English < Latin corpulentus, equivalent to corp ( us ) body + -ulentus -ulent
Explanation
Corpulent is a formal word that describes someone who is very overweight. You might describe Santa Claus as a corpulent man with a ruddy complexion and a jolly grin. There are certainly many other ways to describe an overweight person: obese, portly, and stout are only a few. Corpulent is from Latin corpulentus, from corpus "body." The Latin suffix -ulentus, corresponding to English -ulent, has the meaning "full of, having in quantity."
Vocabulary lists containing corpulent
The Vocabulary.com Top 1000
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Lord of the Flies
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Body Language: Corp ("Body")
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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.
It blooms as the pages turn, like a prickly flower, beginning with the story of the corpulent, nerdy, sci-fi-obsessed title character growing up in Paterson, N.J.
From Los Angeles Times ● Apr. 14, 2025
Colombian artist Fernando Botero, who gained worldwide fame with his sculptures and paintings of corpulent figures, has died at the age of 91.
From BBC ● Sep. 15, 2023
As corpulent and as unwieldy as the film’s vision of London is — sluggish, lumbering and clumsy — the movie isn’t something you savor so much as swallow whole, without tasting it.
From Washington Post ● Dec. 12, 2018
A corpulent man wearing only a pink tutu stormed the ice rink at the Winter Olympics.
From Seattle Times ● Mar. 2, 2018
She watched a corpulent man beside her pull out a gold coin from a purse on his hip that looked to be near bursting.
From "Beasts of Prey" by Ayana Gray
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.
