fulsome

/ˈfʊlsəm/

//ˈfʊlsəm// adj

By · According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA) ·

"fulsome" is a 7-letter English headword indexed on PlainSpell.

The verdict

“fulsome” is uncommon English (frequency #79,528 among 2,507 “F” headwords), classed as an adjective. The kind of spelling people second-guess.

#79,528
frequency rank, English
2,507
“F” headwords

According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed September 3, 2026) - Offensive to good taste, tactless, overzealous, excessive.

Corpus desk

Index EN-fulsome · fulsome · English

fulsome · rank #79,528 · 0 variants · 0 confusables

  • FREQ-RARE #79,528
  • LEN-LONG 7 letters
  • VOW-3 3 vowels
  • CONFUS-0 No pairs
  • VAR-0 0 variants
  • BOOK-MID 2,507
  • PHOTO-FINISH Fujimoto

Nearest frequency peer: Fujimoto (-1 rank slots)

Read with this headword: Spelling guide for this pattern

Desk codes from Wiktionary headword shape, FrequencyWords rank tier, confusable-pair count, generated misspelling depth, letter-cohort book size, and photo-finish peer. Not a difficulty grade.

Long-tail ranks near “fulsome”

Sparse band: bars invert rank so rarer forms read shorter

corpus weight

What this shows Long-tail view: where “fulsome” sits against similarly uncommon English ranks.

Source FrequencyWords open word-frequency list As of September 3, 2026
Key facts for fulsome
PropertyValue
Headwordfulsome
LanguageEnglish
Part of speechAdjective
IPA/ˈfʊlsəm/
Letters7
Frequency rank#79,528
Misspellings tracked0
Confusable pairs0
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Long-tail rank of “fulsome” in English

This scale runs from the tiny cluster of words that carry ordinary speech (left) to the long tail of words almost nobody reaches for (right).fulsomefalls in this rarity band:

#1#100#1K#10K#100K
← used constantlyrarely used →

Ticks step logarithmically, so each one marks a roughly tenfold drop in how often the word turns up. Rare peers in the same band: “Fujimoto” (#79,527), “functor” (#79,529), “fuckwit” (#79,526). Among 2,507 “F” headwords, “fulsome” is #79,528. Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list.

Rare enough to double-check

fulsome is uncommon English at frequency #79,528 among 2,507 “F” headwords, classed as anadjective, transcribed /ˈfʊlsəm/. Rarity is why readers land here mid-draft. 4 senses are on record.

The misspelling generator found no plausible variants for fulsome, since its letter sequence doesn't invite the usual edit-distance slips. It is not paired with a close-neighbour confusable in our dataset, which typically means the spelling is too distinctive to be mistaken for another word.

Etymologically, the entry records: 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 nega… The correct English form is fulsome, spelled F-U-L-S-O-M-E.

Definition

  1. 1
    Offensive to good taste, tactless, overzealous, excessive.
  2. 2
    Excessively flattering (connoting insincerity).
  3. 3
    Characterised or marked by fullness; abundant, copious.
  4. 4
    Fully developed; mature.

Recorded use

Wiktionary examples

These source excerpts show how fulsome appears in context. They illustrate usage; the definition above remains the entry’s reference meaning.

  1. [T]he Weather exceeding hot, I entreated him to let me bathe in a River that was near. He conſented, and I immediately ſtripped myſelf ſtark naked, and went down ſoftly into the ſtream. It happened that a young Female Yahoo ſtanding behind a Bank, ſaw the whole proceeding, and enflamed by Deſire, as the Nag and I conjectured, came running with all ſpeed,…
  2. You will hear the advanced enfans perdus, as the French call them, and so they are indeed, namely, children of the fall, singing unclean and fulsome ballads of sin and harlotrie.

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.

Synonyms

grossprofuseeffusiveunctuous

This word in other languages

taktlos(Deutsch)

Definitions, pronunciation, and etymology for this entry are drawn from Wiktionary via the kaikki.org structured extract (CC BY-SA); frequency ordering uses the FrequencyWords open word-frequency list (2018 English corpus, MIT). See the methodology for how each field is sourced and updated.

Frequently Asked Questions

How do you spell "fulsome"?
"fulsome" is spelled F-U-L-S-O-M-E. The IPA pronunciation is /ˈfʊlsəm/.
What does "fulsome" mean?
As an adjective, "fulsome" means: Offensive to good taste, tactless, overzealous, excessive.
How do you pronounce "fulsome"?
The IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) transcription for "fulsome" is /ˈfʊlsəm/. Click the speaker icon on the pronunciation badge above to hear it spoken aloud where audio is available.
What is the origin of the word "fulsome"?
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... See the full etymology section above for more details.
Is PlainSpell free to use?
Yes, PlainSpell is a completely free word reference. You can look up definitions, pronunciations, confusable pairs, homophones, and spelling corrections across 5 languages without any sign-up or subscription.

Similar English words by spelling shape

Same letter count and similar misspelling depth for "fulsome", not the corpus desk frequency band.

Same letter count

Frequency-ranked English headwords with 7 letters (nearest by frequency rank).

functor#79,529fuckwit#79,526gauchos#79,538flanged#79,514

Source: Wiktionary (via kaikki.org) Structured Wiktionary extract

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list