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Gluttonous

jokaec

Senior Member
Chinese - Hong Kong
If a friend likes to eat and eats too much, can I say "he is gluttonous" or "he is a gutton" in front of others? I guess "foodie" is better word, but what is the adjective word of "foodie"? Thank you.
"Glutton" and "foodie" mean different things.

If someone habitually eats too much, yes, he's a glutton. As to whether you can call him that in front of others, that's for you to decide.

foodie (WR dictionary): a person who is very interested in food, esp. a gourmet.
A foodie and a glutton are different things. A "glutton" is always negative - a "foodie" is usually positive.

The word "glutton" is not used very often, except in the saying "He's a glutton for punishment" (meaning that he does not learn by experience and continues to repeat an action that has resulted in punishment of some sort.)
Just say "he enjoys his food," or some similar euphemism.

Grammatically, you could be insulting and call your soon-to-be former friend a "glutton."
Another possibility that may be just what you want is "he is a gourmand."
Very true, but I fear that's outside the vocabulary of most AE speakers, at least, and learners even more so.

Even our dictionary ascribes both a positive and pejorative meaning.

WordReference Random House Learner's Dictionary of American English ยฉ 2017
gourโ€ขmand /gสŠrหˆmษ‘nd, หˆgสŠrmษ™nd/ n. [countable]
  1. one who is overly fond of good eating.
  2. a gourmet.
Just say "he enjoys his food," or some similar euphemism.

Grammatically, you could be insulting and call your soon-to-be former friend a "glutton."
Thank you all.
Is there any difference between "he enjoys his food" and "he likes to eat"? Which is better in my situation?
I would say "He really likes to eat." with the emphasis on "really" - this will give the impression that he likes eating far more than the average person.
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