And the Vancouver School Board said in a statement that the new curriculum mandates “an inclusive model of education,” so “all students will be able to participate in the curriculum fulsomely”. (Globe and Mail, 16 June, 2021)
In these words, the school board attempted to justify their cutting of programs for gifted children. Anyone who speaks like that does not inspire confidence in the claim he is making, does he? Full of jargon, it’s the kind of vague and general answer a politician gives to a specific question. But especially loathsome is the use of the word “fulsomely”.
The adjective “fulsome” instead of “full” is ugly enough, but the use of the adverb instead of “fully” is even worse. As an adjective, in a cliché like “fulsome praise”, for example, the words might have slipped out from the speaker’s ready vocabulary of hackneyed phrases, but the adverb on its own must have been deliberately chosen. Why?
There are many reasons never to use the word in any form.
It is used frequently by politicians and others who are trying to impress.
It is confusing. Is it being used in its commonly misused sense of “full” or its original meaning of “excessive” or “cloying”?
It is not plain language. Its use is disrespectful to an audience hoping for clear answers.
To delve more fulsomely into the misuse of this festering sore of a word, but at your own risk, see A Fulsome Consultation.
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