spicy
adjective
Simple meaning
Provoking a burning sensation due to the presence of capsaicin or a similar chemical.
Pronunciation
Say it like this:
spyseeSay the bold part a little louder.
IPA pronunciation (US)
ˈspaɪsi
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.
adjective
Of a flavor, provoking a burning sensation due to the presence of capsaicin or a similar chemical.
Of a food, flavor, or odor, tangy, zesty, or pungent.
Of, pertaining to, or containing spice.
Of an expression or behavior, vigorous; colorful; stimulating.
informalidiomatic
Scandalous.
Word Aura™
How this word commonly comes across.
Aura for this meaning
This meaning: Of a flavor, provoking a burning sensation due to the presence of capsaicin or a similar chemical.
Used this way, spicy is a specialist word that usually carries little praise or criticism of its own. This is a scientific use: it names something precisely within a field of study, so it appears in research and teaching more than in conversation.
- Emotional tone
- Neutral
- Formality
- Specialist/technical
- Intensity
- Not strongly marked
- How common
- Specialized
- Connotation
- Clinical and technical
- Usage feel
- Technical and specialized
Where it naturally appears
- Science
- Academic writing
- Technical/specialist writing
Usage note
In general conversation this sense usually needs explaining — outside its field, people reach for a plainer word.
Nearby words
- zesty , rarer, so it draws attention
Word Aura describes common impressions, not a measurement. Tone changes with sentence, speaker, relationship and situation.
More ways to use spicy
- “This curry is too spicy for me. I can't eat it.”adjective
- “She breathed in the strong, spicy aroma.”adjective
- “He is known for his spicy political commentary.”adjective
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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.