delicious
- 1Highly pleasing to the sense of taste; very tasty.
The chef served a delicious dish of roasted lamb and fresh herbs.
These warm pastries are absolutely delicious.
Similartasty, delectable, scrumptious, mouthwatering, appetizing
Oppositedisgusting, revolting, unappetizing, tasteless
Note
Behind the everyday praise of food lies a word about temptation. Late Latin dēliciōsus comes from dēliciae, "delights", and further back from a verb meaning "I allure, I entice": de- plus laciō, "I lure". By its ancestry, something delicious is something that draws you in. Edgar Rice Burroughs's The Return of Tarzan (1913) gives that pull its full force: Tarzan has gorged himself, and "it had been delicious!"
- 2Greatly pleasing to a person's taste, or to the eyes or mind.
She savored every detail of the delicious gossip her friend shared over coffee.
From the terrace, the garden offered a delicious view of rolling green hills.
Similardelightful, lovely, juicy, enjoyable, pleasing
Oppositeunpleasant, disagreeable
Note
A pleasure of the mind as much as of the mouth: irony, gossip, a view or an evening can all be delicious. The usage is far from new. Henry Fielding's Tom Jones (1749) has its hero ask whether his companion had ever beheld "so delicious an evening." It stays close to the Latin "delights" behind the sense of taste, and in "the irony is delicious" the pleasure is savored like a flavor.
- 3Strikingly attractive in a sexual way; possessing tremendous sex appeal.
The same word we reach for over a tempting dessert, aimed instead at a tempting person.
Every head turned when that delicious stranger strolled into the bar.
He gave her a slow smile, looking utterly delicious in the dim light.
Similargorgeous, sexy, hot, attractive, desirable
Oppositeunattractive, ugly
Note
Slang that carries the vocabulary of eating over to physical attraction: a delicious stranger is admired the way a dish is. It is said of people and is frankly appreciative, so it suits friends and playful talk. In formal or workplace speech it can sound as if it reduces someone to their appeal. Because it overlaps with the broader "pleasing" sense, tone and context carry much of the meaning.
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Origin
The word passed through Middle English and Anglo-Norman from Old French delicious/delicieux, from Late Latin dēliciōsus ("delicate, delicious"). That came from dēliciae ("delights"), the plural of dēlicia ("pleasure"), which goes back to deliciō ("I allure, entice"), from de- ("away") plus laciō ("I lure"), of unknown ultimate origin.