relish
noun · verb
Simple meaning
Enjoyment of flavour or taste.
Pronunciation
Say it like this:
rehlishSay the bold part a little louder.
IPA pronunciation (US)
ˈɹɛlɪʃ
This word is pronounced essentially the same in American and British English, so one transcription covers both.
IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) is a standard way of writing speech sounds.
Definition
Everyday modern meanings first, grouped by part of speech.
noun
by extensionchiefly in the negative
(uncountable) Enjoyment of flavour or taste; (countable) an instance of this.
by extensionchiefly in the negative
(figurative, uncountable) Enjoyment of something pleasant; (countable) an instance of this.
by extensioncountableuncountableoriginally US
A condiment or sauce added to food for a spicy or tangy flavour; specifically, one made with chopped, pickled fruit or vegetables.
by extensionuncountable
Appetizing or pleasant flavour or taste; (countable) an instance of this.
Spicy or savory condiment
by extensioncountable
A savoury dish or course of dishes, especially one accompanying rather than forming the main part of a meal; an appetizer, a side dish.
verb
transitive
To give (something) (a pleasant) flavour or taste; to make appetizing.
intransitivefigurative
Followed by in: to take delight or pleasure.
Word at a Glance
- Difficulty
- C1 · Advanced
- Frequency
- Uncommon
- Typical Use
- Primarily written
Word Aura™
How this word commonly comes across.
Aura for this meaning
This meaning: (countable, uncountable, originally US) A condiment or sauce added to food for a spicy or tangy flavour; specifically, one made with chopped, pickled fruit or vegetables.
Used this way, relish is a reasonably familiar word that usually carries little praise or criticism of its own. This is a food and cooking use: everyday in kitchens and recipes.
- Emotional tone
- Neutral
- Formality
- Neutral
- Intensity
- Not strongly marked
- How common
- Moderately common
- Connotation
- Matter-of-fact
- Usage feel
- Neutral and straightforward
Where it naturally appears
- Cooking/food
- Everyday conversation
Word Aura describes common impressions, not a measurement. Tone changes with sentence, speaker, relationship and situation.
More ways to use relish
- “She relished her fame and basked in her glory.”verb
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Common Patterns and Combinations
How this word naturally appears with others.
Word Family
Related forms, grouped by how they connect.
Compound terms
Established multiword terms.
A spicy condiment made of chopped fruits or vegetables cooked in vinegar and sugar with ginger and spices.
Relish of chopped (usually sweet) pickles.
More about this wordSynonyms, forms, origin
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Dictionary data from Wiktionary via the Free Dictionary API. Simple meanings, combinations and word intelligence are built from verified reference data, no AI is used to load this page.