Rotund means rounded and plump, often in a way that suggests someone or something is well-fed and substantial. A rotund gentleman might have a round belly that jiggles when he laughs. A rotund teapot has a pleasingly curved, bulging shape.

The word carries a gentler, more dignified feeling than blunt words like “fat.” When Charles Dickens described Mr. Pickwick as rotund, he painted a picture of a cheerful, prosperous character whose roundness suggested comfort and good nature rather than anything negative. A rotund opera singer filling a concert hall with her voice, or a rotund snowman standing proudly in the yard, both capture this sense of substantial roundness.

You might also hear rotund describe sounds that are full and rich, like the rotund tone of a cello or someone's deep, resonant speaking voice.