spicy
Americanadjective
-
spicier,
comparative
-
spiciest
superlative
-
seasoned with or containing spice.
a spicy salad dressing.
-
characteristic or suggestive of spice.
-
of the nature of or resembling spice.
-
abounding in or yielding spices.
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aromatic or fragrant.
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piquant or pungent.
spicy criticism.
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of a slightly improper or risqué nature; somewhat sexy.
a spicy novel.
- Synonyms:
- improper, ribald, racy, suggestive
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Informal. full of spirit; lively.
adjective
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seasoned with or containing spice
-
highly flavoured; pungent
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informal suggestive of scandal or sensation
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producing or yielding spices
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
Inflected Forms
Adjectives
Etymology
Origin of spicy
Explanation
Spicy things have a sharp, strong, pungent flavor. Hot chili peppers—and food that's made with them—are notoriously spicy. People who don't like spicy food might be hesitant to try an Indian, Thai, or Mexican restaurant, since the cuisines of those countries are known for being spicy. But if you love the way curries tingle on your tongue, then you're a fan of spicy dishes. Spicy is also used to mean "exciting but vulgar or inappropriate," like a spicy joke that's not suitable for school.
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.
See Examples For:
Pizza popped up as often as pate on plates, while one caterer from La Reunion has won social media adulation for his gifts of cari, a spicy dish popular on the Indian Ocean island.
From Barron's ● Jul. 31, 2026
Then he sent me home with two bottles of his favorite sauce—one spicy, one sweet.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 24, 2026
He commented that the spicy tuna sushi in my cart was a good choice.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 24, 2026
The dry powder is more umami-heavy with notes of garlic and shiitake mushrooms and spicy, courtesy of gochugaru, or Korean red chili pepper.
From Salon ● Jul. 19, 2026
First, she brought out plates of spicy tamales and borracho beans, and when that was gone, she brought down a fruit basket.
From "Summer of the Mariposas" by Guadalupe García McCall
“I used to think I didn’t like floral, but I realized I do when paired with spicier, woodsier notes,” I say.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jun. 5, 2025
A survey conducted online with approximately 6,000 consumers found that 65 percent of consumers said they were eating spicier foods today than they were a year ago.
From Salon ● Apr. 6, 2025
Sean Evans is best known for his YouTube show Hot Ones, where he interviews celebrities while they eat chicken wings that get progressively spicier.
From BBC ● Feb. 23, 2025
In short, researchers concluded there is some evidence of a relationship between microbes and the spiciness of mustard, but why mustard gets spicier in response to certain microbes remains unknown.
From Science Daily ● Apr. 22, 2024
When he cometh, I shall shed, From this wellspring in my head, Fountain-drop of spicier worth Than all vintage of the earth.
From Poems Household Edition by Emerson, Ralph Waldo
“The spice level on this album is high,” Swift said, as Fallon confirmed, “It’s the spiciest yet.”
From Salon ● Oct. 7, 2025
One of the spiciest dishes I’ve ever tasted was at Jitlada and they have a competition surrounding it.
From Los Angeles Times ● Dec. 20, 2024
Sept. 20, Mullenweg hosted a session that he previewed as being “one of my spiciest WordCamp presentations ever.”
From Slate ● Oct. 11, 2024
Shan Li’s little Yummy Meats & Deli is home to what might be Seattle’s spiciest chicken.
From Seattle Times ● Feb. 25, 2021
Julia’s now redder than the spiciest hot wings.
From "A Good Kind of Trouble" by Lisa Moore Ramée
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.
