--- title: Sally Yates: Searches for Fulsome Definition Spike Online description: Searches for the definition of the word fulsome spiked after Sally Yates used them in her testimony, according to Merriam Webster canonical: https://time.com/4772114/sally-yates-testimony-fulsome-definition/ author: Ashley Hoffman article:opinion: false article:content_tier: free article:published_time: 2017-05-09T14:38:05.000Z article:modified_time: 2026-04-13T07:43:28.037Z og:title: Everyone's Looking Up This Word After Sally Yates' Testimony og:description: The word can mean abundance or express disapproval of excessive flattery og:url: https://time.com/4772114/sally-yates-testimony-fulsome-definition/ og:site_name: TIME og:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltb645c6508273abc0/6988cc73cf40a84abec47967/yates-testify.jpg?branch=production&width=3840&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 og:image:width: 1200 og:image:height: 675 og:image:alt: Former Deputy Attorney General Yates is sworn in prior to testifying before a Senate Judiciary Committee hearing on âRussian interference in the 2016 U.S. electionâù on Capitol Hill in Washington og:type: article twitter:card: summary_large_image twitter:title: Everyone's Looking Up This Word After Sally Yates' Testimony twitter:description: The word can mean abundance or express disapproval of excessive flattery twitter:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltb645c6508273abc0/6988cc73cf40a84abec47967/yates-testify.jpg?branch=production&width=3840&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 ---  # People Are Searching for This Word After Sally Yates' Testimony on Michael Flynn by [Ashley Hoffman](https://time.com/author/ashley-hoffman/) ## Ashley Hoffman May 9, 2017 2:38 PM UTC  Former Deputy Attorney General Sally Yates is sworn in prior to testifying before a Senate Judiciary Committee hearing on Russian interference in the 2016 U.S. election on Capitol Hill in Washington on May 8, 2017. Former Deputy Attorney General Sally Yates is sworn in prior to testifying before a Senate Judiciary Committee hearing on Russian interference in the 2016 U.S. election on Capitol Hill in Washington on May 8, 2017.Jim Bourg—Reuters by [Ashley Hoffman](https://time.com/author/ashley-hoffman/) ## Ashley Hoffman May 9, 2017 2:38 PM UTC Searches for the definition of the word “fulsome” spiked after [Sally Yates](http://time.com/4771960/sally-yates-ted-cruz-trump-travel-ban-watch/) used the adjective on Monday during her opening statement at the [Senate Judiciary subcommittee](http://time.com/4754803/donald-trump-russia-investigation-momentum/) about Russian interference with the 2016 election. As she delivered her [opening statement](http://ti.me/2qiqu5k) Monday, the former acting Attorney General said she planned to be as “fulsome and comprehensive as possible” within ethical and legal boundaries when she testified in front of the committee about investigating possible Russian hacking during the presidential election. Merriam Webster [reported](http://www.merriam-webster.com/news-trend-watch/trump-and-clinton-accuse-each-other-of-having-the-wrong-temperament-to-be-president-20160926) that [searches](https://www.merriam-webster.com/news-trend-watch/yates-as-fulsome-and-comprehensive-as-possible-20170508) for the word, which can mean “generous or abundant,” surged more than 4,700% than the online dictionary’s hourly average. The reference noted that although the meaning of the word “fulsome” is muddled and context is key, it can “indicate abundance, but it can also express disapproval of excessive flattery.” Yates said she warned the White House, under President Donald Trump, that Michael Flynn was “compromised” and “essentially could be blackmailed by Russians.” Trump fired Flynn earlier this year for misleading the Vice President Mike Pence about Flynn’s communications with Russia. Her testimony Monday was the first time Yates [spoke publicly](https://www.lgraham.senate.gov/public/%5Fcache/files/79e32986-a3ba-4c8c-bd00-efbb3eb02b1e/the-honorable-sally-q.-yates---opening-statement.pdf) about her concerns. ```json [{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"NewsArticle","@id":"https://time.com/4772114/sally-yates-testimony-fulsome-definition/","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://time.com/4772114/sally-yates-testimony-fulsome-definition/"},"headline":"People Are Searching for This Word After Sally Yates' Testimony on Michael Flynn","datePublished":"2017-05-09T14:38:05.000Z","dateModified":"2026-04-13T07:43:28.037Z","description":"The word can mean abundance or express disapproval of excessive flattery","url":"https://time.com/4772114/sally-yates-testimony-fulsome-definition/","keywords":["Newsfeed","politics","language","onetime"],"thumbnailUrl":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltb645c6508273abc0/6988cc73cf40a84abec47967/yates-testify.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","author":[{"@type":"Person","name":"Ashley Hoffman","jobTitle":null,"url":"https://time.com/author/ashley-hoffman/"}],"articleSection":"","image":[{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltb645c6508273abc0/6988cc73cf40a84abec47967/yates-testify.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","width":1200,"height":675,"headline":"Former Deputy Attorney General Yates is sworn in prior to testifying before a Senate Judiciary Committee hearing on âRussian interference in the 2016 U.S. electionâù on Capitol Hill in Washington","caption":"Former Deputy Attorney General Yates is sworn in prior to testifying before a Senate Judiciary Committee hearing on âRussian interference in the 2016 U.S. electionâù on Capitol Hill in Washington","creditText":"Jim Bourg—Reuters","representativeOfPage":true}],"publisher":{"@type":"Organization","name":"Time","url":"https://time.com/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://time.com/images/logo.png","width":528,"height":156},"foundingDate":"March 3, 1923","sameAs":["https://www.facebook.com/time","https://www.instagram.com/time/?hl=en","https://twitter.com/time","https://www.pinterest.com/timemagazine"]}},{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"BreadcrumbList","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"item":{"@id":"/tag/time-section-newsfeed/","name":"Newsfeed"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"item":{"@id":"https://time.com/4772114/sally-yates-testimony-fulsome-definition/","name":"People Are Searching for This Word After Sally Yates' Testimony on Michael Flynn"}}]}] ```