--- 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: 2026-10-08T09:01:33.969Z 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=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 og:image:width: 3500 og:image:height: 1969 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=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 ---  # People Are Searching for This Word After Sally Yates' Testimony on Michael Flynn > Sponsored content. 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It explains the politics, personalities and power dynamics behind the headlines, twice a week. #### Where can I get analysis of Washington politics by email? D.C. Brief is TIME's free Washington politics newsletter, available at time.com/newsletters. It is written by a TIME senior correspondent who covers the capital full time. #### Who writes TIME's D.C. Brief? Philip Elliott, a senior correspondent at TIME, writes D.C. Brief. #### Is D.C. Brief free? Yes. D.C. Brief is free at time.com/newsletters. ### Sources * TIME Newsletters: [time.com/newsletters](/c/time-nl-dcbrief-2026q3/newsletters?i=afccd69c-0cfe-4339-89f7-6f14b0f9dd89&cr=time-nl-dcbrief-2026q3-v1) ## Video: Sally Yates' Testimony Before the Senate Judiciary Committee [Watch (HLS stream): Sally Yates' Testimony Before the Senate Judiciary Committee](https://cdn.jwplayer.com/manifests/HrVWNxRb.m3u8) (3:35)  _Published 2017-05-08. Sally Yates delivered her opening statement about the concerns she raised regarding one of President Donald Trump's national security adviser Michael Flynn and his connections with Russia_ by [Ashley Hoffman](https://time.com/author/ashley-hoffman/) ## Ashley Hoffman May 9, 2017 2:38 PM UTC Sally Yates delivered her opening statement about the concerns she raised regarding one of President Donald Trump's national security adviser Michael Flynn and his connections with Russia 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. ## Transcript I'm pleased to appear before you this afternoon, on this critically important topic of Russian interference in our last presidential election and the related topics that this subcommittee is investigating. For 27 years, I was honored to represent the people of the United States with the Department of Justice. I began as an assistant United States attorney in Atlanta in the fall of 1989 and like all prosecutors, I investigated and tried cases and worked hard to try to ensure the Safety of our communities. And of those who violated our laws were held accountable. Overtime through five Republican and Democratic administrations. I assumed greater leadership positions within the department. In US attorneys office in Atlanta, serve as chief of the fraud and public corruption section. As first assistant United States attorney and then was appointed United States attorney and then I had the privilege as serving as deputy attorney general for a little over two years and finally the current administration asked me to stay on as acting attorney general. Throughout my time at the department, I was incredibly fortunate to be able to work with the talented career men and women at the department of justice, who followed the facts and applied the law with tremendous care and dedication, and who are in fact the backbone of the department of justice. And in every step in every position from A USA to acting attorney general, I always try to carry out my responsibility to seek justice in a way that would engender the trust and the confidence of the people whom I serve. I want to thank this sub committee for conducting in an impartial and thorough investigation of this vitally important topic. The efforts by a foreign adversary to interfere and undermine our democratic processes, and those of our allies, pose a serious threat to all Americans. This hearing and other subcommittee has conducted and will be conducting in the future are imported bipartisan step in understanding the threat and the best ways to confront it going forward. As the intelligence community assessed in its January of 2017 report Russia will continue to develop capabilities to use against United States And we need to be ready to meet those threats. I sincerely appreciate the opportunity to take part in today's discussion. Now, I wanna note that in my answers today, I intend to be as fulsome and as comprehensive as possible. While respecting my equal and ethical boundaries. As the sub committee understands, many of the topics of interest today concern classified information that I cannot address in this public setting. My duty to protect classified information applies just as much as a former official as it did when I led the department. In addition, I'm obviously no longer with the department of justice and I am not authorized to generally discuss deliberations within DOJ or more broadly within the executive branch, particularly on matters that may be the subject of ongoing investigations. I take those obligations very seriously and I appreciate the sub committee's shared interest in protecting classified information. And preserving the integrity of any investigations, that the Department of Justice, may now be conducting. I'll look forward to answering your questions. 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