delicious
Americanadjective
-
highly pleasing to the senses, especially to taste or smell.
a delicious dinner;
a delicious aroma.
- Synonyms:
- delicate, dainty, delectable, savory, palatable
- Antonyms:
- unpleasant
-
very pleasing; delightful.
a delicious sense of humor.
noun
adjective
-
very appealing to the senses, esp to the taste or smell
-
extremely enjoyable or entertaining
a delicious joke
Usage
Spelling tips for delicious The word delicious is hard to spell because it is spelled very differently from the way it is pronounced [ dih-lish-uhs ]. How to spell delicious: A deli is a place that sells sandwiches with Cheese, Iceberg lettuce, Onions, and Usually Salami (-CIOUS). This tasty sentence reminds you how to spell deli-cious.
Synonym Usage
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.
Other Word Forms
Etymology
Origin of delicious
First recorded in 1250–1300; Middle English, from Old French, from Late Latin dēliciōsus, equivalent to Latin dēliciae “delight” + -ōsus -ous
Explanation
Delicious is an adjective describing a tasty item. If you’re a chocolate fanatic, you will probably find triple chocolate fudge cake to be absolutely delicious. The origins of delicious make perfect sense. The late Latin deliciae means "delight" or "pleasure," so you could say that delicious flavors and delicious foods give delight or pleasure to our taste buds. But let's not limit our pleasures to all things gastronomical. Things that delight your intellect can be delicious as well, especially when you're entertained by art, amused by wit, or delighted by irony. Thinking of the perfect comeback to an insult can be a particularly delicious experience.
Vocabulary lists containing delicious
Excerpt from "The Adventures of Tom Sawyer"
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Words for Cheese Writers
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List 7
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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.
“Ms. Atkinson’s lighthearted novel,” Sam Sacks writes, “mines delicious humor from this mismatch of grizzled cynicism and national heritage.”
From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 30, 2026
Stevens digs into the drink’s history and tells a fascinating tale about Prohibition and the delicious outcome of cultural fusion between the U.S. and Mexico.
From Slate ● Sep. 21, 2026
Hershey argued that the plaintiffs “got what they bargained for — delicious candy.”
From Salon ● Sep. 19, 2026
Gakpo delivered a delicious pass with the outside of his right foot from inside his own half.
From BBC ● Sep. 4, 2026
He came easily, though he sometimes dug his little hooves in long enough to get a big mouthful of something delicious before allowing Anya to pull him along.
From Anya and the Nightingale by Sofiya Pasternack
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.
