Fulsomness

Part of speech: noun

Definitions

1. The quality of being excessively flattering or insincerely lavish in praise ; a state of being offensively overdone, coarse or distasteful in manner or expression
2. Lavish, cloying praise that seems insincere ; the unpleasant quality of being overdone to the point of disgust in language or behavior
3. An insincere, overblown extravagance of praise ; the repellent quality of something excessive, gross or sickeningly overdone

Etymology: The word was once plainly positive. Built from "full" and the English suffix "-some", meaning "having the quality of", it described something abundant or copious. A "fulsome" supply was simply a generous one, and nothing in its making implied insincerity or bad taste. The negative sense grew out of that abundance. Praise poured out in heaps came to seem excessive, and excess shaded into the cloying and the distasteful. Usage writers later objected that the word had drifted toward meaning "disgusting," and those objections still surface in arguments over its correct use.

Synonyms: effusiveness, excessiveness, gushiness

Antonyms: restraint, moderation