adjective
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rounded or spherical in shape
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plump
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sonorous or grandiloquent; full in tone, style of speaking, etc
Other Word Forms
Etymology
Origin of rotund
1695–1705; < Latin rotundus round, circular, derivative of rota wheel; cf. round 1
Explanation
Rotund describes anything that's plump or round, like a teapot or your chubby Aunt Agnes. Rotund describes someone who is round in shape, or obese. It's not a compliment. That's why it's probably okay to call Santa Claus rotund, but not your neighbor — at least not to his face! It's fine to call round things rotund, however, like a rotund vase full of flowers, which particularly makes sense when you know that the root of rotund is the Latin word rotundus, meaning round, circular, like a wheel.
Vocabulary lists containing rotund
Grade 9, List 3
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This Week in Words: October 22 - 27, 2017
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The Vanderbeekers of 141st Street
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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.
Video released by the US-based NGO Beneath The Waves shows one orca holding the tail of a sunfish, with its fellow whale then charging with full force into the rotund mola, which explodes into pieces.
From Barron's ● Jul. 23, 2026
Police publicly released a blurry snapshot of a rotund man in a dark jacket and hat, and the surveillance footage, sparking a flood of online speculation.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Dec. 19, 2025
His case came to be known as the Fat Leonard scandal because of Francis' rotund frame at that time.
From BBC ● Nov. 5, 2024
Live bear cams provided an up-close glimpse into the world of these rotund ursids as they caught sockeye salmon and engaged in other bear activities.
From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 11, 2023
Bobby’s last-round opponent was the rotund Abe Turner, a perpetual acting student whose great claim to thespian fame was that he’d been a contestant on Groucho Marx’s television program, You Bet Your Life.
From "Endgame" by Frank Brady
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.
