protuberant
Americanadjective
adjective
Other Word Forms
Etymology
Origin of protuberant
1640–50; < Late Latin prōtūberant- (stem of prōtūberāns ), present participle of prōtūberāre to swell. See pro- 1, tuber 1, -ant
Explanation
If something is protuberant, it juts or bulges out, like Santa Claus's famously protuberant belly. You might find your small dog adorable, with her flat nose and protuberant eyes, while your brother prefers the family cat. Something that's protuberant can also be called a protuberance, and we can trace both words back to the Late Latin protuberare, "to swell or bulge," from the roots pro, "forward," and tuber, "lump or swelling."
Vocabulary lists containing protuberant
Dracula
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Interpreter of Maladies
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A Bend in the River
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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.
The bumps push out candy-striped and aproned gowns; they are exaggerated by belted waists, and one particularly protuberant tummy doubles as a perch for a parakeet.
From Slate ● Jul. 21, 2025
And Cyrano is still in love with Roxane, though he never risks saying so because of that protuberant proboscis.
From New York Times ● Apr. 14, 2022
They’re absolute eye candy, the kind of bud that does it for the ’Gram — great pops of frilly color, their protuberant, pollen-gilded anthers sticking out like … well, exactly what they are.
From Washington Post ● Feb. 3, 2022
He has a long face and long, wavy brown hair parted at the crest; his chin is protuberant and cratered by a dimple the size of Chicxulub.
From The New Yorker ● Apr. 15, 2019
He was a tiny creature, smaller than Winston, with dark hair and large, protuberant eyes, at once mournful and derisive, which seemed to search your face closely while he was speaking to you.
From "1984" by George Orwell
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.
