containing strong flavours from spices
Do you like spicy food?
Longman Dictionary of Contemporary English
spicy
spic‧y /ˈspaɪsi/ BrE AmE adjective
1. food that is spicy has a pleasantly strong taste, and gives you a pleasant burning feeling in your mouth SYN hot ⇨ spice:
a spicy tomato sauce
2. a story or picture that is spicy is slightly shocking or rude because it tells about or shows something relating to sex
• • •
THESAURUS
■ describing the taste of something
▪ delicious having a very good taste: This cake is delicious! | a delicious meal
▪ disgusting/revolting having a very bad taste: The medicine tasted disgusting. | They had to eat revolting things, like fish eyes.
▪ sweet tasting full of sugar: The oranges were very sweet.
▪ tasty especially spoken tasting good and with plenty of flavour: She cooked us a simple but tasty meal. | That was really tasty!
▪ sour/tart having a taste that stings your tongue slightly, like lemon does – used especially when this is rather unpleasant: The apples were a little sour. | The wine has rather a tart taste, which not everyone will like.
▪ tangy having a taste that stings your tongue slightly, like lemon does, in a way that seems good: The dressing was nice and tangy.
▪ bitter having a strong taste which is not sweet and is sometimes rather unpleasant – used for example about black coffee, or chocolate without sugar: bitter chocolate | The medicine had rather a bitter taste. | Hops give beer its distinctive bitter taste.
▪ salty containing a lot of salt: Danish salami has a salty flavour.
▪ hot/spicy having a burning taste because it contains strong spices: I love hot curries. | a spicy tomato sauce
▪ piquant /ˈpiːkənt/ formal a little spicy – used especially by people who write about food. This word can sound rather ↑pretentious in everyday conversation: cooked vegetables in a piquant sauce
▪ mild not having a strong or hot taste – usually used about foods that can sometimes be spicy: a mild curry
▪ bland not having an interesting taste: I found the sauce rather bland.
Oxford Advanced Learner's Dictionary
spicy
spicy [spicy spicier spiciest] [ˈspaɪsi] [ˈspaɪsi] adjective (spici·er, spici·est)
1. (of food) having a strong taste because spices have been used to flavour it
Syn: hot
• spicy chicken wings
2. (informal) (of a story, piece of news, etc.) exciting and slightly shocking
• spicy stories about the sex lives of the stars
Derived Word: spiciness
Thesaurus:
spicy adj.
• a plate of spicy chicken wings
hot • • strong • |BrE savoury • |AmE savory •
Opp: mild, Opp: bland
a spicy/hot/strong/savoury flavour
a spicy/strong/savoury taste
a spicy/savoury food/dish/sauce
Example Bank:
• The soup tasted mildly spicy.
• a deliciously spicy aroma
• She tends to cook very spicy food.
• a plate of spicy chicken wings
Cambridge Advanced Learner's Dictionary
Cambridge Advanced Learner's Dictionary - 4th Edition
spicy / ˈspaɪ.si / adjective (FOOD)
B1 containing strong flavours from spices:
Do you like spicy food?
spiciness / -nəs / noun [ U ]
© Cambridge University Press 2013
spicy / ˈspaɪ.si / adjective (EXCITING)
exciting and interesting, especially because of being shocking or dealing with sexual matters:
a spicy novel
spicy details
spiciness / -nəs / noun [ U ]
© Cambridge University Press 2013
Collins Advanced Learner’s English Dictionary
spicy
[spa͟ɪsi]
spicier, spiciest
ADJ-GRADED
Spicy food is strongly flavoured with spices.
Thai food is hot and spicy.
...a spicy tomato and coriander sauce.
Merriam-Webster's Advanced Learner's Dictionary
spicy
spicy /ˈspaɪsi/ adj spic·i·er; -est
1 of food : flavored with or containing strong spices and especially ones that cause a burning feeling in your mouth
• This salsa is too spicy [=hot] for me.
2 : exciting and somewhat shocking
• a spicy sex scandal
• a spicy story/tale