delicious
[dih-lish-uh s]
- highly pleasing to the senses, especially to taste or smell: a delicious dinner; a delicious aroma.
- very pleasing; delightful: a delicious sense of humor.
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- (initial capital letter) a red or yellow variety of apple, cultivated in the U.S.
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Origin of delicious
1250–1300; Middle English < Old French < Late Latin dēliciōsus, equivalent to Latin dēliciae delight + -ōsus -ous
Synonyms
See more synonyms for delicious on Thesaurus.com1. palatable, savory, delectable, dainty, delicate.
Synonym study
1. Delicious, luscious refer to that which is especially agreeable to the senses. That which is delicious is highly agreeable to the taste or sometimes to the smell: a delicious meal. Luscious implies such a luxuriant fullness or ripeness as to make an object rich: a luscious banana; a luscious beauty; luscious music.
Antonyms
1. unpleasant.
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2018
Examples from the Web for delicious
Contemporary Examples
I will turn my nose up when you offer me the rest of some delicious pastry that you nibbled on.
Kevin: This is actually a delicious opportunity for Aniston.
Angelina Jolie and Brad Pitt Got Married and We’re Worried About Jennifer AnistonKevin Fallon, Tim Teeman
August 28, 2014
Many blended scotches are just as delicious and take even more artistry to make.
We prefer the low key spots, where the eating is as cheap as it is delicious.
This stuff is all fresh and delicious, and they serve a pretty excellent ropa vieja too.
Historical Examples
These are very real, nourishing and delicious foods that are being offered you.
Her Father's DaughterGene Stratton-Porter
No doubt she could evolve a delicious gum from the mesquite and the incense plant.
Her Father's DaughterGene Stratton-Porter
It was such a wonderful day; it was such an unusual and delicious feast.
Her Father's DaughterGene Stratton-Porter
What was the matter with her that she was less gay, and that she was so overcome by this delicious pang?
The DreamEmile Zola
She looked once more, just as he was turning his head; and so the minutes passed, and it was delicious.
The DreamEmile Zola
delicious
- very appealing to the senses, esp to the taste or smell
- extremely enjoyable or entertaininga delicious joke
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Word Origin
C13: from Old French, from Late Latin dēliciōsus, from Latin dēliciae delights, charms, from dēlicere to entice; see delight
Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition
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Word Origin and History for delicious
adj.
c.1300 (implied in deliciously), from Old French delicios (Modern French délicieux), from Late Latin deliciosus "delicious, delicate," from Latin delicia (plural deliciae) "a delight, allurement, charm," from delicere "to allure, entice," from de- "away" (see de-) + lacere "lure, deceive" (related to laqueus "noose, snare;" see lace). As a name of a type of apple, attested from 1903, first grown by Jesse Hiatt of Iowa, U.S.A. Colloquial shortening delish is attested from 1920.
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Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2010 Douglas Harper