delicious
/dɪˈlɪʃəs/ (bre, ipa) · /dɪˈlɪʃəs/ (ame, ipa) · /di-ˈli-shəs/ (ame, mw)
delicious — adjective
- deliciouspositive
- more deliciouscomparative
- most delicioussuperlative
1. If food or drink is delicious, it has a wonderful taste that makes you feel plea
If food or drink is delicious, it has a wonderful taste that makes you feel pleased and satisfied. The word can also describe a smell that is very pleasant.
The chocolate cake at Heather's party was absolutely delicious — everyone asked for a second slice.
strong intensifier: absolutely delicious
Marco's grandmother makes a delicious chicken soup with ginger and herbs.
common pattern: delicious + [food noun]
The warm smell of fresh cinnamon bread was so delicious that Ishaan bought some.
These little grilled fish skewers from the night market are surprisingly delicious.
Ryo found a delicious recipe for mango sticky rice on a Thai cooking blog.
- tasty
less strong in tone; more informal and casual than delicious
- flavourful
emphasises a rich, complex combination of tastes rather than overall pleasure
- mouth-watering
stronger and more vivid; often used in advertising or descriptions of food seen/photographed
- bland
lacking strong flavour; the opposite of a pronounced taste
- disgusting
much stronger negative, describing something that makes you feel sick
文法句型
be + delicious
delicious + noun (e.g. food, cake, smell)
intensifier + delicious
用法筆記
Delicious is a gradable adjective, so it can be modified by intensifiers: very delicious, really delicious, absolutely delicious. Avoid using it with extremely — the word already carries strong positive force. Non-gradable alternatives like mouth-watering or scrumptious exist but are less common in everyday speech.
常見錯誤
2. People describe an experience, situation, or piece of information as delicious w
People describe an experience, situation, or piece of information as delicious when it gives them great enjoyment or satisfaction, often in a surprising, amusing, or slightly secret way.
Reading novels on the beach for a whole week sounded delicious to Christopher.
Amira shared some delicious gossip about their old classmates at the reunion dinner.
collocation: delicious gossip
There was a delicious sense of relief when Ada finally got her visa approved.
Shirin smiled at the delicious irony of winning the award she had once been rejected for.
- delightful
more standard and common for experiences; less informal than delicious
- pleasurable
more formal and neutral; lacking the slightly mischievous tone of delicious
- entertaining
focuses on amusement rather than deep satisfaction
- unpleasant
general opposite; lacking enjoyment
- disappointing
fails to meet expectations of pleasure
文法句型
be + delicious (for figurative situations)
delicious + [abstract noun] (e.g. irony, gossip, sense of relief)
用法筆記
This is a figurative extension of the taste meaning. It is most common in informal, conversational English or in creative writing. Typical collocates include gossip, irony, sense of relief, prospect, pleasure. It does NOT describe people (do not say 'a delicious person').
常見錯誤
delicious — noun
1. A type of sweet apple that is usually red or yellow, originally from the United
A type of sweet apple that is usually red or yellow, originally from the United States. It has a slightly tall shape and five small bumps around the top near the stem.
Valentina uses Golden Delicious apples for pie because they are sweet and hold shape well.
Golden Delicious — specific yellow variety
The farmer sold Red Delicious apples next to Granny Smith and other varieties.
Although Delicious apples are very sweet, some people prefer a crisper apple for eating raw.
The children each received a shiny Red Delicious apple in their lunch bags.
- Red Delicious
the red-skinned sub-variety
- Golden Delicious
the yellow-skinned sub-variety, more popular for cooking
文法句型
[determiner] + Delicious + apple(s)
Red Delicious / Golden Delicious
用法筆記
When used as a noun referring to the apple variety, the word is capitalised: 'a Delicious', 'Red Delicious', 'Golden Delicious'. Not to be confused with the adjective delicious (uncapitalised, meaning 'tasty'). The apple takes its name from the favourable adjective, not the other way around.