Zest Meaning
/zɛst/Definition, CEFR level B2, pronunciation, examples, and quiz.
Listen pronunciation
Definition
nounThe outer skin of a citrus fruit, used as a flavouring or garnish.
nounGeneral vibrance of flavour.
Sentence Examples
Wit gives zest to conversation.
Her disappearance gave zest to the mystery.
Louis seemed to lose her zest for interaction.
CEFR Practice Quiz
She tackled the challenge with great ____, making the work fun for everyone.
CEFR Practice Quiz (Alternate)
She has a real ____ for life, always looking for several many new and exciting adventures to participate in tonight today.
Word Origin & History
Borrowed from French zeste.
Literary Quotations & Historical Citations
"He rolled his own cigarettes from a sack of Bull Durham, spilling flakes into his beer, which no doubt gained in zest thereby."
— 1959, Peter De Vries, The Tents of Wickedness, Boston: Little, Brown & Co., The Treehouse, Chapter 7, page 92:
"Bashele’s dishes tasted as good as they had when I was a child. No one could give to the borscht such a sweet-and-sour zest as Bashele."
— 1978, Isaac Bashevis Singer, translated by Joseph Singer et al., Shosha, New York: Fawcett Crest, Part One, Chapter Five, 1, p. 99:
"And never did Isabella relieve a suffering fellow-creature, or assist a beloved sister, without blessing the dear, distant one that had made her rich, and kissing her sweet boy with new zest, as the son of his father."
— 1842, [anonymous collaborator of Letitia Elizabeth Landon], chapter XXXIV, in Lady Anne Granard; or, Keeping up Appearances. […], volume II, London: Henry Colburn, […], →OCLC, page 139:
"Once started, Mrs. Bolton was better than any book, about the lives of the people. She knew them all so intimately, and had such a peculiar, flamey zest in all their affairs, it was wonderful, if just a trifle humiliating to listen to her."
— 1928, D[avid] H[erbert] Lawrence, chapter 9, in Lady Chatterley’s Lover, Gutenberg edition, [Florence, Italy]: [ […] Tipografia Giuntina, […]], →OCLC; republished as Lady Chatterley’s Lover (eBook no. 0100181h.html), Australia: Project Gutenberg Australia, August 2011, archived from the original on 11 Nov 2020:
"The singers, male and female, wore blue jeans and long hair and had more zest than talent."
— 1962, James Baldwin, Another Country, New York: Dell, published 1963, Book Two, Chapter 2, p. 221:
Explore More B2 Vocabulary Words
CEFR Practice Quiz
She tackled the challenge with great ____, making the work fun for everyone.
CEFR Practice Quiz (Alternate)
She has a real ____ for life, always looking for several many new and exciting adventures to participate in tonight today.