fulsome
/ˈfʊlsəm/ adjective
Forms fulsomer fulsomest fullsome
- adjective Offensive to good taste, tactless, overzealous, excessive.
- adjective Excessively flattering (connoting insincerity).
- adjective Characterised or marked by fullness; abundant, copious. “The fulsome thanks of the war-torn nation lifted our weary spirits.”
- adjective Fully developed; mature. “Her fulsome timbre resonated throughout the hall.”
Synonyms
effusive unctuous profuse gross buttery oily oleaginous smarmy soapy
Etymology
From Middle English fulsom, equivalent to full + -some. The meaning has evolved from an original positive connotation "abundant" to a neutral "plump" to a negative "overfed". In modern usage, it can take on any of these inflections. See usage note.
The negative sense "offensive, gross; disgusting, sickening" developed secondarily after the 13th century and was influenced by Middle English foul (“foul”). In the 18th century, the word was sometimes even spelled foulsome.
Webster’s 1913
- adjective Full; abundant; plenteous; not shriveled. [Obs.]
- adjective Offending or disgusting by overfullness, excess, or grossness; cloying; gross; nauseous; esp., offensive from excess of praise; as, fulsome flattery.
Etymology [Full, a. + -some.]
Sources: Wiktionary · WordNet 3.0 · Webster’s 1913 — from the Wiktionary entry “fulsome”, CC BY-SA 4.0. Details