pulchritudinous
Americanadjective
Usage
What does pulchritudinous mean? Pulchritudinous is an adjective that means physically beautiful or attractive. Pulchritudinous is a grandiose way of saying someone or something is good-looking. It’s quite rare and, for that reason, usually used for humorous effect. Example: The makeup artist said my epidermis was pulchritudinous, which I guess means I have nice skin.
Etymology
Origin of pulchritudinous
An Americanism dating back to 1875–80; from Latin pulchritūdin- (stem of pulchritūdō ) + -ous
Explanation
Even though it looks (and sounds) like it would describe a disease or a bad attitude, pulchritudinous actually describes a person of breathtaking, heartbreaking...beauty. Let's be honest: Your opportunities for using this word in casual conversation are probably pretty slim. But, just in case, let's do a quick run-down on the pronunciation: Pulchritudinous: "pul-kruh-TOO-di-nuhs." And one last note about this 15-letter, 5-syllable beast (which may win the award for least-beautiful word meaning "beautiful"): It's only used to describe people.
Vocabulary lists containing pulchritudinous
More Positive Words to Describe a Person
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Call of Beauty: Synonyms for "Beautiful"
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The Crossover
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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.
Unlike the fleshy, pulchritudinous and radiant nudes of Rubens and Renoir, Mr. Pearlstein’s models are painted as ordinary human beings.
From Washington Post • Dec. 17, 2022
Camera angles, special effects and editing preserve the illusion that it is a pulchritudinous star leaping off a building or driving through a window rather than a man in drag.
From The Guardian • Feb. 10, 2018
The pulchritudinous guitar player has lately become the achy heart of Nashville—as well as most of its connective tissue.
From Slate • Apr. 2, 2013
"She was, I decided, the most astonishingly self-contained, pulchritudinous, remote, removed, inaccessible woman I had ever seen," Burton wrote in a diary passage quoted in Melvyn Bragg's 1988 biography of the Welsh actor.
From Chicago Tribune • Mar. 23, 2011
In Eugene Maleska crossword terminology, he's braw and pulchritudinous, while Will Shortz, current puzzle editor for The New York Times, might define him as a "wower," the clue being "Turns heads, in a way."
From "Me Talk Pretty One Day" by David Sedaris
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.
