spicy
- 1Producing a burning sensation in the mouth, caused by capsaicin, the compound found in chili peppers.
The vindaloo was so spicy that diners reached for water after every bite.
He prefers spicy dishes loaded with fresh green chilies.
Note
This burn is a feeling rather than a taste: capsaicin acts on the tongue's heat receptors, not its taste buds. It grades easily (spicier, the spiciest dish, super spicy) and pairs naturally with hot. Keep it apart from the "full of spice" meaning: cinnamon spices a cake without making it burn. Food marketing has even blended it with sweet into swicy.
- 2Containing spices, or having the flavor or aroma that spices give.
The mulled wine had a warm, spicy aroma of clove and nutmeg.
Gingerbread gets its spicy character from ginger, cinnamon, and molasses.
Similarspiced, aromatic, piquant
Note
The root sense, and the most transparent build in the word: spice plus the adjective-making -y, in use since the 16th century. It covers food and drink seasoned with spices and the smell they give off, so it suits cloves in mulled wine as well as a casserole. Every later meaning of spicy, from chili heat to gossip, is a stretch of this one.
- 3Having a tangy, zesty, or pungent quality of taste or smell.
The aged gouda had a surprisingly spicy bite.
Fresh arugula adds a spicy, peppery note to the dish.
Similartangy, pungent, zesty, peppery, sharp
Note
A broader idea of pungency, with no chili burn required. It covers aged cheese and arugula, or the spicy herbs that perfume a heifer's breath in Alexander Dow's 1769 translation of Inatulla's tales. It applies to smells as readily as to tastes, so a spicy aroma is sharp and fragrant rather than hot. When a dish actually stings, the word has moved to the capsaicin meaning.
- 4Risqué or racy; mildly sexual or suggestive in content.
The novel's spicy chapters helped turn it into a bestseller.
She posted a spicy photo that got everyone talking.
Similarracy, steamy, suggestive, saucy
Note
Here the online register works as a soft euphemism. Spicy images are suggestive rather than explicit, and that mildness is the appeal, because it lets a speaker flag sexual content without naming it. The word is handy as a warning but can sound coy in formal contexts. It differs from the gossip sense in being specifically sexual.
- 5Scandalous; involving shocking, improper, or gossip-worthy detail.
The tabloid ran a spicy exposé on the senator's affair.
Their divorce became a spicy topic at every dinner party.
Similarscandalous, juicy, salacious, sensational
Note
Gossip with a kick is far from new. Thackeray's Vanity Fair (1847–48) already speaks of a particularly spicy dispatch whose news was sure to slip out. The sense suits reports, letters and revelations that people repeat and pass along. Where the impropriety turns sexual, the word slides toward the racy meaning.
- 6
- 7Somewhat risky, bold, or mildly aggressive or dangerous.
The pilot attempted a spicy maneuver close to the canyon walls.
Putting all your savings into one stock is a spicy move.
Similarrisky, bold, daring, dicey
Note
Online slang has given the word a playful edge: a spicy move, or a spicy ball of fur, is one that might bite. The register is light and affectionate, so it suits a feisty cub or a bold gamble far better than real danger. Calling a serious threat spicy sounds flippant. Keep it to casual, internet-flavored talk rather than formal writing.
Practice
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Origin
Formed from "spice" plus the suffix "-y", attested since the 16th century.