effusive

English

WOTD – 17 October 2011

Etymology

From the stem of Latin effundēre + -ive, from ex- (out of) + fundō (pour), 1660s.[1]

Pronunciation

  • IPA(key): /ɪˈfjuːsɪv/

Adjective

effusive (comparative more effusive, superlative most effusive)

  1. Gushy; unrestrained, extravagant or excessive (in emotional expression).
    • 1997, David Foster Wallace, “A Supposedly Fun Thing I'll Never Do Again”, in A Supposedly Fun Thing I'll Never Do Again, Kindle edition, Little, Brown Book Group:
      All week I’ve found myself doing everything I can to distance myself in the crew’s eyes from the bovine herd I’m part of, to somehow unimplicate myself: I eschew cameras and sunglasses and pastel Caribbeanwear; I make a big deal of carrying my own cafeteria tray and am effusive in my thanks for the slightest service.
  2. (archaic) Pouring, spilling out freely; overflowing.
    • Alexander Pope
      washed with the effusive wave
  3. (geology, of igneous rock) Extrusive; having solidified after being poured out as molten lava.

Derived terms

Translations

References

  1. effusive” in Douglas Harper, Online Etymology Dictionary, 2001–2019.

Italian

Adjective

effusive

  1. feminine plural of effusivo
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