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Glite Dictionary
pudgy

pudgy

19 4.0
Slightly fat and short in a way that looks cute
  • adjective
  • /ˈpʌdʒi/
translation icon : gordito
  • Kenny Stein was a small, pudgy, flat-faced nine-year-old with brown eyes and kinky, almost Afrolike hair.

And then one guy is, you know, pudgy dad bod, out of shape, and the other guy is fit, lean athletic, has ABS.

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Examples

  • For some reason, he found himself really liking the pudgy Selenite, thinking of him as a friend.

    Fiction book (1990)

  • The pudgy puppy tumbled over its own feet while playing in the yard.

  • His round face looked almost pudgy in the light cast by the fire.

    Fiction book (1990)

  • I notice how soft and pudgy the hands of the boy with the orange mask are.

    Academic text (2008)

  • "With that, he wheeled his pudgy body around and left the room.

    Fiction book (1997)

  • His face had grown pudgy, and his hips had the roundness of a girl's.

    Fiction book (1993)

  • "It's okay," he said to me, stopping to ruffle my hair with his pudgy fingers.

    Fiction book (1992)

  • Does he look healthy, vigorous, and alert, or is he fat and pudgy, sloppy-looking, and tired?

    Academic text (1995)

  • Wow, from the outside looking in, being on a show like Mad TV or SNL, I'm a pudgy guy, you know, and I never got girls.

  • She gave her pudgy baby a warm hug, finding his round cheeks adorable.

Synonyms

chubby
vspudgy
  • Informal
61 1.0

Slightly fat in a cute, pleasant way

is similar but can feel less openly affectionate and more neutral
dumpy
vspudgy
  • Offensive
5 5.0

Short and thick in build, often making a person or animal look clumsy

leans toward cuteness rather than the negative, clumsy sense
tubby
vspudgy
  • Informal
4 3.4

Short and slightly fat with a round body, often about a person or animal

is gentler and tends to suggest mild cuteness rather than comedy
roly-poly
vspudgy
  • Informal
1 5.5

Short, round, and plump in a friendly, playful way

is comparable but is not always as playful in tone
puggy
vspudgy
  • Informal
9.7

Short and slightly chubby in a cute way

is less slangy and more often seen as simply cute or neutral
porky
vspudgy
  • Offensive
7.1

A little fat in a way people may find rude

is softer and more likely to be taken as cute or neutral

Antonyms

lean
108 2.5

Thin with little extra fat or money

slim
60 1.0

Thin and with little body fat

How Plump

obese
126 3.8
fat
∞ 1.0
chubby
  • Informal
61 1.0
pudgy
19 4.0
slim
60 1.0
slender
57 1.4

Surface Forms

pudgy positive
pudgier comparative
pudgiest superlative

Morphology

pudgy = pudge (semi-transparent) = pudge + y

Formed by the productive adjectival suffix '-y' from the noun 'pudge', so the meaning is derivable, but the base 'pudge' is relatively rare and may be unknown to many learners.

Etymology

Pudgy probably comes from the older word pudge, which is like pudding and brings to mind something soft and round. So pudgy means 'short and plump', often a little fat in a cute way.