spiced

1. 1
   verb

   Simple past and past participle of spice.

   The chef spiced the broth until it had real depth.

   Traders spiced their food with goods carried from distant ports.

   Note

   One spelling does double duty. It is the simple past (she spiced the stew) and also the participle after have or be (the stew had been spiced). The verb is transitive, so something always receives the spice. The form also carries the figurative sense of spice up, where the meaning is enlivening rather than seasoning. In that sense it often takes with to name the added interest.

   She spiced her speech with a few old jokes.

   The plot was spiced with rumor and intrigue.

2. 2
   adjective

   Prepared with one or more spices added for flavor, giving an aromatic or pungent taste.

   The spiced lamb arrived fragrant with cumin and coriander.

   Vendors sold cups of richly spiced chai along the platform.

   Similarseasoned, flavored, spicy

   Oppositeplain, unseasoned, bland

   Note

   A participle turned adjective, naming what was done to a food rather than how it tastes. Spiced rum is rum with spices added, set against plain rum. Spicy usually suggests heat on the tongue, so a cinnamon-and-clove cake can be spiced without being spicy. It compares with more and most (more spiced, most spiced) and sits close to the verb's past participle, which describes the act of seasoning.

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