Meaning & use
corpulent
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Meaning
adjectivecomparableformalold-fashioned
Having a large, heavy, rounded body because of carrying a lot of weight.
Grammar: Can come before a noun (a corpulent man) or after a linking verb (he was corpulent).
Patterns
- a corpulent man
- become corpulent
The corpulent innkeeper laughed so hard that his whole body shook.
In the portrait, the king appears corpulent and richly dressed.
He grew corpulent in later life after years of banquets.
Word forms
| comparative | more corpulent |
|---|---|
| superlative | most corpulent |
Common combinations
- a corpulent figure
- A corpulent figure appeared in the doorway.
- a corpulent gentleman
- A corpulent gentleman in a top hat boarded the train.
- grow corpulent
- The merchant grew corpulent on rich food and little exercise.
- corpulent and jolly
- The shopkeeper was corpulent and jolly, always ready with a joke.
Synonyms and how they differ
- stout
- Stout is a gentler, more polite word for a solid, broad build, while corpulent stresses a larger body mass.
- portly
- Portly suggests a dignified, rounded, middle-aged look and sounds kinder than corpulent.
- obese
- Obese is a medical term for a health condition, whereas corpulent is a descriptive, literary word.
- overweight
- Overweight is the neutral everyday word and is milder than corpulent.
Opposites
Word family
- corpulence noun
- the state of being heavily built
- corpulency noun
- a less common form of corpulence
- corpus noun
- a body of something, from the same Latin root meaning body
Commonly confused: corpulent or corporal?
corpulent vs corporal
Corporal relates to the body (corporal punishment) and is also a military rank; it does not mean heavy or overweight.
Practice
Which word would best fit a formal, old-style novel describing a heavy, rounded shopkeeper?
Choose one answer.
Corpulent describes a large, heavy body in a formal register. Scrawny, frail and petite all describe small or thin people.
Make it your own
Write a sentence using “corpulent”, then check it and compare it with the examples above.