Appetises

Part of speech: noun, verb

Definitions

1. Characterized by stimulating the appetite or desire for food or drink
2. Describing the act of making something more enticing or appealing, often in relation to meals
3. Pertaining to the quality of provoking interest or eagerness, especially in culinary contexts

Etymology: "Appetises" is the third-person singular present form of the verb "appetise", meaning to make food look or taste appealing. The verb itself is a back-formation from "appetising", the present participle of the same verb, so the familiar "-ise" ending was not attached to a root word at the start. Instead, speakers first used the longer "appetising" and then reasoned backward from it, stripping off the "-ing" to produce the shorter base form. The "-ise" spelling is the British variant of "-ize", the same ending found in words like "organise" and "realise". The noun "appetite" is the older word behind this family, and the verb grew out of that wider sense of desire or hunger, now narrowed to the appeal of food. The "-s" added here simply marks the third-person singular, as in "he appetises" or "she appetises".

Synonyms: appetites, hungers, desires, cravings, longings

Antonyms: disgusts, aversions, indifferences, repulsions, nauseas