fulsome

[foo l-suh m, fuhl-]

SEE MORE SYNONYMS FOR fulsome ON THESAURUS.COM

adjective

offensive to good taste, especially as being excessive; overdone or gross: fulsome praise that embarrassed her deeply; fulsome décor.

disgusting; sickening; repulsive: a table heaped with fulsome mounds of greasy foods.

excessively or insincerely lavish: fulsome admiration.

encompassing all aspects; comprehensive: a fulsome survey of the political situation in Central America.

abundant or copious.

Origin of fulsome

First recorded in 1200–50, fulsome is from the Middle English word fulsom. See full¹, -some¹

Related formsful·some·ly, adverbful·some·ness, nounun·ful·some, adjective

Can be confusedfull fullness fulsomefulsome noisome (see usage note at the current entry)

Usage note

In the 13th century when it was first used, fulsome meant simply “abundant or copious.” It later developed additional senses of “offensive, gross” and “disgusting, sickening,” probably by association with foul, and still later a sense of excessiveness: a fulsome disease; a fulsome meal, replete with too much of everything. For some centuries fulsome was used exclusively, or nearly so, with these unfavorable meanings.
Today, both fulsome and fulsomely are also used in senses closer to the original one: The sparse language of the new Prayer Book contrasts with the fulsome language of Cranmer's Book of Common Prayer. Later they discussed the topic more fulsomely. These uses are often criticized on the grounds that fulsome must always retain its connotations of “excessive” or “offensive.” The common phrase fulsome praise is thus sometimes ambiguous in modern use.

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2019

Related Words for fulsome

bombastic, buttery, canting, cloying, coarse, extravagant, fawning, flattering, glib, grandiloquent, hypocritical, immoderate, ingratiating, inordinate, insincere, magniloquent, mealy-mouthed, nauseating, offensive, oily

Examples from the Web for fulsome

Contemporary Examples of fulsome

This occurs even as they proclaim their fulsome concern for “future generations.”
It Can Happen Here: Europe’s Screwed Generation and America’s
Joel Kotkin
June 4, 2012
Clemmons was fulsome in his praise for Jews who have taken up residence on territory that Israel captured from Jordan in 1967.
The Israeli Right’s New Best Friend
Michelle Goldberg
August 25, 2011
Rather, he sees her fulsome interest in sex as a small rebellion against the fundamentalist world that she was born into.
The Christian-Right Whistleblower
Michelle Goldberg
June 24, 2011
His Empire State colleagues, while tentatively supportive, have been far less than fulsome in their comments.
Ground Zero Mosque: Who's For, Who's Against
The Daily Beast
August 17, 2010
He asked Hoover to contribute, and the director did so with fulsome praise for Joe Kennedy.
Inside the Kennedy Death Threats
Adam Clymer
June 14, 2010

Historical Examples of fulsome

He is critical, but not captious; laudatory, but not fulsome.
Punch, or the London Charivari, Vol. 147, November 18, 1914
Various
His praise was as close to fulsome flattery as it could be and not overstep the mark.
Cap'n Dan's Daughter
Joseph C. Lincoln
"Blaw his lug," to praise a person in an extravagant or fulsome manner.
The Proverbs of Scotland
Alexander Hislop
It was praised with the most fulsome adulation; assailed with the most violent condemnation.
The Octopus
Frank Norris
No adulation was too fulsome for her, no flattery of her beauty too gross.
History of the English People
John Richard Green

British Dictionary definitions for fulsome

fulsome

adjective

excessive or insincere, esp in an offensive or distasteful wayfulsome compliments

not standard extremely complimentary

informal full, rich or abundanta fulsome figure; a fulsome flavour; fulsome detail

archaic disgusting; loathsome

Derived Formsfulsomely, adverbfulsomeness, noun

usage

The use of fulsome to mean extremely complimentary or full, rich or abundant is common in journalism, but should be avoided in other kinds of writing

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Word Origin and History for fulsome

adj.

Middle English compound of ful "full" (see full (adj.)) + -som (see -some (1)). Sense evolved from "abundant, full" (mid-13c.) to "plump, well-fed" (mid-14c.) to "overgrown, overfed" (1640s) and thus, of language, "offensive to taste or good manners" (1660s). Since the 1960s, however, it commonly has been used in its original, favorable sense, especially in fulsome praise. Related: Fulsomely; fulsomeness.