oomph

noun

ˈu̇m(p)f 

1

: personal charm or magnetism : glamour

2

: sex appeal

3

: punch, vitality

Synonyms

• beans
• bounce
• brio
• dash
• drive
• dynamism
• energy
• esprit
• gas
• get-up-and-go
• ginger
• go
• gusto
• hardihood
• juice
• life
• moxie
• pep
• punch
• sap
• snap
• starch
• verve
• vigor
• vim
• vinegar
• vitality
• zing
• zip

Examples of oomph in a Sentence

The plot of the story lacks oomph.

The truck doesn't have the oomph to haul the boat.

Recent Examples on the Web

Fans of opening day are looking for that oomph to carry you through a long season of ups and downs. —Frederick Dreier and Adam Roy, Outside Online, 11 Nov. 2024

October 30, 2024 7:58 AM EDT NASA’s Deep Space Optical Communications experiment—currently aboard the Psyche spacecraft en route to a distant asteroid—includes a laser transmitter that operates like a radio, but with far more data-carrying oomph. —TIME, 30 Oct. 2024

Plus, the best women’s fleece jackets can make a serious street style statement and add a little oomph to your outerwear rotation. —Olivia Cigliano, WWD, 28 Oct. 2024

Character development builds across the series, which means big moments of discovery and internecine power struggles have more oomph as time goes on. —Kathryn Vanarendonk, Vulture, 9 Oct. 2024

Word History

Etymology

imitative of a sound made under exertion

First Known Use

1930, in the meaning defined at sense 1