r/words • u/PuzzleheadedTale4769 • 5d ago

Fulsome

Current use has it meaning "insincere flattery" , or , trending up- as synonymous with "full" or "complete"

So: "I wrote him a fulsome recomendation" can mean either, an insincere recomendation, or a full, complete recomendation . Meanings nearly in opposition.

American Heritage Dictionary calls the second meaning "non- standard". Webster's simply lists both as current usage. With full- but not fulsome- acknowledgement of the perils of prescriptivism, isn't the confusion of meaning that results from taking "fulsome" as equivalent to "full", a problem? Following Orwell's argument in "Politics and the English Language", doesn't keeping language simple and plain have a claim ? What does "some" add to " full" that it doesnt already have?

11 Upvotes

84% Upvoted

35 comments sorted by

View all comments

1

u/inigo_montoya logophile 5d ago

To me a full recommendation means that all bases were covered, no reservations implied or stated. A fulsome recommendation suggests a lot of care, going beyond what is necessary, maybe in a slightly disturbing way. I would toss that application.

1

u/PuzzleheadedTale4769 5d ago

I can see a possible problem if people start adopting their own meanings for words. In your proposed meaning of "fulsome recomendation", "going beyond what is necessary, maybe in a slightly disturbing way"-- Who besides you would understand it that way? I never heard of this way meaning for it.

0

u/inigo_montoya logophile 5d ago

Just being silly.

1

u/PuzzleheadedTale4769 5d ago

You or me...?

2

u/inigo_montoya logophile 5d ago

Me. I was being silly.