portly
Americanadjective
-
rather heavy or fat; stout; corpulent.
-
Archaic. stately, dignified, or imposing.
adjective
-
stout or corpulent
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archaic stately; impressive
Other Word Forms
- portliness noun
- unportly adjective
Etymology
Origin of portly
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.
To the dismay of more portly ministers in tow, he also made a habit of jogging onto stage at public events.
But the portly housekeeper was already chugging back the way she came.
From Literature
The way American newspapers caricatured his portly build and bald head, portraying him like some stubby supervillain sprung from the pages of one of their ludicrous comic books.
From Literature
Veytia, a portly figure with a bushy mustache, seemed an unlikely Eliot Ness, but he was credited with reducing violence and hailed as “the terror of every criminal” in a laudatory corrido, or ballad.
From Los Angeles Times
"Cyril", as he is known to some, is said to be a portly man with a very gruff voice.
From BBC
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.
