Fulsom

Part of speech: adjective

Definitions

1. Excessively complimentary or praising in a way that seems insincere or excessive
2. Marked by extravagant and often insincere flattery or admiration
3. Characterized by over-the-top praise or compliments that appear dishonest or overdone

Etymology: Before it meant excessive or insincere, "fulsom" meant simply "abundant" or "plentiful." The word is built from "full" and the suffix "-some," the same suffix found in "handsome" and "wholesome." An older form of the adjective, it described things that were copious or generous, with no hint of disapproval. The meaning then drifted toward excess. Once a thing was more than enough, it could seem overdone, and "fulsome" came to describe praise that was lavish to the point of seeming false, and later anything cloying or offensive. The good sense survives mainly in the fixed phrase "fulsome praise," which now almost always carries the negative sense. Speakers who use the word in its original sense of generous abundance are often read as making an error.