The Language Perfectionist: Less Full Than Some

Consider these two examples, selected from thousands that an Internet search turned up:

• "Although he received fulsome praise from his later colleagues and former students for leading an excellent clinical service…"
• "You will find within these pages a sharing of views, ideas, perceptions, and experiences, which deserve fulsome praise for the quality of the contributions."

Because fulsome sounds like "full," it’s commonly used in the sense of abundant, copious, generous, lavish. The word is so often paired with praise that people repeat the expression "fulsome praise" without understanding what it means.

In reality, fulsome has negative meanings: gross, loathsome, odious, offensive, repulsive. The expression "fulsome praise" means praise that is cloying, excessive, fawning, insincere.

Of course, situations do exist where praise deserves this modifier. But that’s not what most writers and speakers who use it intend. Ironically, what they believe to be a compliment is really an insult.

As in so many cases, some dictionaries and other language authorities defend the positive meaning of fulsome. Originally, the word did mean full or abundant. But times, and the word’s meaning, have changed. In any case, writers should always strive to achieve clarity, avoid ambiguity, and preclude the possibility that a reader will misunderstand.

Finally, here’s another reason to steer clear of the expression "fulsome praise": It’s overused and cliched. Whether you wish to convey a positive or a negative evaluation of praise - or of anything else - you can choose from a variety of other words, such as those listed above.

[Ed Note: For more than three decades, Don Hauptman was a direct-response copywriter. He is author of the wordplay books Cruel and Unusual Puns and Acronymania, and is now writing a new book that also blends language and humor.]