Another instalment in:
Words that we use incorrectly because they just “sound” better.
A while back I wrote about the misuse of “penultimate” by people trying to sound erudite and eloquent by using it to convey “more than ultimate,” which is impossible.
The latest misuse getting under my skin is “fulsome” as an adjective applied to praise, or a discussion or process. This incorrect usage persists despite the existence of perfectly serviceable, more accurate adjectives; but that I suppose just aren’t quite it in the minds of many people writing today. I have seen this incorrect usage on CBC, the Globe and Mail and many professional documents so often and unconsciously that it’s time to take issue, if only to get it off my mind.
From the Merriam-Webster Dictionary:
fulsome • \FULL-sum\ • adjective. 1 a : characterized by abundance : copious b : generous in amount, extent, or spirit 2 : aesthetically, morally, or generally offensive 3 : exceeding the bounds of good taste : overdone 4 : excessively complimentary or flattering : effusive.
Take a good look at these definitions. Merriam Webster suggests a lean toward evolving usage with definition no. 1. Termiumplus, the official arbiter of Canadian Government language and usage, also allows for the opposite meaning creeping into common usage; but still describes the usage of “fulsome” in the context of full or abundant as inadvisable.
If someone, like a politician for instance, says they issued a “fulsome apology,” be on your guard: if they fully (see what I did there) understand English usage, they may be hedging (not that that ever happens). “Fulsome” signifies insincerity, when generally what we desire is a full, complete, or unreserved apology. Similarly, if you read about “fulsome praise” being heaped on a film or book, you should look for an honest second opinion, as by definition they are overdoing it and likely don’t mean it. “Praise” conveys approval succinctly, sincerely, and without hyperbole.
Most often it is used as an adjective to describe a discussion that supposedly has covered all the angles. That would be a “comprehensive” or a ‘full” discussion; a “fulsome discussion” denotes too much talking. “Fulsome” does not mean “more than full” or “better than full”. “Full” does that by itself.
I get it: language evolves. Maybe I am the Don Quixote of language, tilting at the inevitable; but I don’t understand the aversion to using the existing, more accurate, adjectives. The only answer I can come up with is that, to the linguistically lazy or uninformed, it just sounds right. Well, it isn’t and, in our rush to seem smarter, we degrade the elegant nuances of the English language.