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
Derived 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.
Rotund, genial with a ready smile, Mylonas is quick to deny the accusations.
From The Guardian • Sep. 6, 2016
In this spirit of reborn hope, Rotund Reliever Terry Forster even dropped 40 lbs.
From Time Magazine Archive
Rotund Robert Macbeth will have no truck with modernists, publishes blasts against such violent fellows as Pablo Picasso.
From Time Magazine Archive
Rotund, easygoing Pappy Waldorf had one thing in his favor: the team was anxious to prove that it was not the players who were responsible for last year's disasters.
From Time Magazine Archive
Rotund and slower in flight than the Vipertooth or the Longhorn, the Ironbelly is nevertheless extremely dangerous, capable of crushing dwellings on which it lands.
From "Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them" by J.K. Rowling
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.
