[ful.some] adj [ME fulsom copious, cloying, fr. full + -som -some] (13c) 1 a: characterized by abundance: copious "describes in ~ detail --G. N. Shuster" "~ bird life. The feeder overcrowded --Maxine Kumin" b: generous in amount, extent, or spirit "the passengers were ~ in praise of the plane's crew --Don Oliver" "a ~ victory for the far left --Bruce Rothwell" "the greetings have been ~, the farewells tender --Simon Gray" c: being full and well developed "she was in generally ~, limpid voice --Thor Eckert, Jr."
2: aesthetically, morally, or generally offensive "~ lies and nauseous flattery --William Congreve" "the devil take thee for a ... ~ rogue --George Villiers"
3: exceeding the bounds of good taste: overdone "the ~ chromium glitter of the escalators dominating the central hall --Lewis Mumford"
4: excessively complimentary or flattering: effusive "an admiration whose extent I did not express, lest I be thought ~ --A. J. Liebling" -- ful.some.ly adv -- ful.some.ness n usage The senses shown above are the chief living senses of fulsome. Sense 2, which was a generalized term of disparagement in the late 17th century, is the least common of these. Fulsome became a point of dispute when sense 1, thought to be obsolete in the 19th century, began to be revived in the 20th. The dispute was exacerbated by the fact that the large dictionaries of the first half of the century missed the beginnings of the revival. Sense 1 has not only been revived but has spread in its application and continues to do so. The chief danger for the user of fulsome is ambiguity. Unless the context is made very clear, the reader or hearer can't be sure whether such an expression as "fulsome praise" or "a fulsome tribute" is meant in sense 1b or in sense 4.