curvaceousadj.
/kəːˈveɪʃəs/, U.S. /kərˈveɪʃəs/ Originally U.S.
1. Of a woman or a woman's figure, physique, etc.: having an attractively curved shape. Later also occasionally applied to men.
ΘΚΠ
the mind > attention and judgement > beauty > beauty of shape or form > [adjective] > having fullness and beauty of form > of female form
curvaceous1933
curvesome1933
stacked1942
the world > life > the body > bodily shape or physique > broad shape or physique > [adjective] > fat or plump > of a woman
buxom1589
matronlya1660
buxom-looking1840
zaftig1921
curvaceous1933
curvesome1933
1933 Covina (Calif.) Citizen 12 May 3/4 The curvacious blonde sensation of the screen world [sc. Mae West].
1933 Havre (Montana) Daily News 9 Sept. 2/4 ‘I've seen “She Done Him Wrong”, twice,’ Mary told the curvaceous blonde actress.
1959 N.Z. Listener 21 Aug. 8/1 Legs that are strong, and curvaceous, and graceful, and a pleasure to the eye!
1986 S. Churcher N.Y. Confidential v. 130 The critics weren't invited to review the curvaceous temp [sc. Raquel Welch], but some of them bought seats.
2000 M. Ramakers Dirty Pictures v. 134 Decked out in black leather and jeans, a tight white T-shirt covering his curvaceous chest.
2011 Vanity Fair June 166/2 Katy is hot. No, not just the curvaceous, voluptuous body—although there is that.
2. More generally: full of curves; curvy.
ΘΚΠ
the world > space > shape > curvature > series of curves > [adjective] > having many or winding curves
tortivous14..
anfractuous?a1425
tortuous1426
tortuea1500
snakish1532
winding1538
wormy1545
boughty1570
wriggled1572
sinuous1578
serpent-likea1586
crankled1594
serpent1597
snaky1600
flexuous1605
snaking1605
cringle-crangle1606
voluminous1611
serpenting?1614
serpentine1615
curvy1623
serpentizing1628
worming1631
lacinious1648
anguineous1656
anguine1657
anfractuose1680
twisting1683
vermicular1712
worm-like1721
flexuose1727
meandering1748
crinkum-crankum1766
serpentiform1777
serpentining1799
anguiform1800
ophite1828
tortuose1829
cranky1836
sinuose1836
serpentile1857
twisty1857
sinuated1859
vermiculatea1864
twinyc1868
tortive1880
crinkle-crankle1881
serpentinous1882
quirky1890
twistical1890
waggly1894
wriggly1901
squiggly1902
wiggly1903
contortionate1911
wig-waggy1914
curvaceous1965
1934 Sunday Reg. (Beckley, W. Va.) 18 Feb. 4/5 If you think Mae West has been given credit or blame for all the styles and trends possible, you've overlooked ‘curvacious architecture’.
1935 Lowell (Mass.) Sun 14 Mar. 14/1 The car tracks, which swerved in and around fields and curvaceous obstructions.
1965 New Statesman 30 Apr. 693/1 Curvaceous red paint marks..seemed to indicate a vague and unrealised intention to paint a female nude.
2011 Economist 8 Oct. 40/2 The red Routemaster bus is one of London's abiding icons, its curvaceous silhouette as recognisable as Big Ben.
Derivatives
curˈvaceously adv.
ΚΠ
1934 East Texan (Commerce, Texas) 11 Jan. 1/1 They ‘curvaciously’ walk up and down several times under the pretense of looking for a seat.
1946 Newark (Ohio) Advocate & Amer. Tribune 15. Nov. 3/2 Superbly designed, curvaceously feminine, intriguingly different for a smooth effect.
1998 M. Jacobs Budapest i. ii. 33 Hidden at the back is a curvaceously terraced area dominated by an enormous ‘wavepool’.
curˈvaceousness n.
ΚΠ
1941 Lowell (Mass.) Sun & Lowell Citizen-Leader 2 Sept. 9/4 Many women are over-doing the fashionable trend toward curvaceousness.
1999 L. R. Aiken Human Differences v. 95 Physical attractiveness is not a simple matter of body symmetry, cuteness, curvaceousness, or muscularity.
This entry has been updated (OED Third Edition, September 2017; most recently modified version published online March 2022).
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adj.1933