winsome
adjective
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Winsome comes from Old English wynn, meaning "joy" or "pleasure," which was altered in spelling to win (with the same meaning). That win is obsolete and is unrelated to today's win—referring to victory and coming from Old English winnan, "to struggle, suffer, or acquire." The adjective winning, meaning "tending to please or delight," as in "a winning smile" or "winning ways," is believed to be from the victorious win.
Synonyms
Examples of winsome in a Sentence
Linda Zavoral, The Mercury News, 21 June 2024
Reeve has been moving through one of life's transition periods, evolving dexterously from the winsome, carefree hunk who had made his name in four Superman movies into a more seasoned performer, a committed family man and passionate political activist.
—People Staff, Peoplemag, 27 May 2024
Approaching each potential client with a winsome smile, Ani knows how to maximize her take-home, gently steering them via the ATM to semi-private booths for a lap dance or into VIP rooms for something more special.
—David Rooney, The Hollywood Reporter, 21 May 2024
The statues are clearly from a professional theme-park shop, but most of the museum, like a lovingly handmade Halloween costume at architectural scale, exhibits a winsome amateurism that persists in pockets of Branson but whose age is drawing to a close.
—Rafil Kroll-Zaidi, Harper's Magazine, 30 Mar. 2024
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These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'winsome.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.
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Cite this Entry
“Winsome.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/winsome. Accessed 2 Jul. 2024.
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winsome
adjective
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