turgid

Adjective complement with noun phrase

• keep: It is needed for photosynthesis and keeping the cells turgid.

Modifies a noun

• prose: Some fairly turgid prose is often broken up by an acid aside, for which the reader is too often rather thankful.
• rubbish: These boards have become nothing but turgid rubbish, no wonder people left them and others hardly drop in anymore.
• book: Look, if I wanted to read a turgid history book, I'd read a turgid history book.
• mess: Unfortunately, what you get instead is a bit of turgid mess.
• stuff: The first half was pretty turgid stuff from both sides as Swindon struggled to get out of first gear.
• document: There is nothing less read and less used than a long and turgid policy document.

Modifying Another Word

• rather: Although there is much to recommend this book, some chapters can be rather turgid, and the high price may well dissuade many.
• pretty: It's a pretty turgid take on the underwhelming soft indie rock genre.
• so: Unfortunately, this Opinion was so turgid as to be almost incomprehensible and did little to clarify the specific points at issue.
• fairly: Some fairly turgid prose is often broken up by an acid aside, for which the reader is too often rather thankful.
• very: The plants obviously benefitted, becoming very turgid and greener.
• somewhat: When I skim-read his somewhat turgid and self-centred biography of his father I thought that the old legal eagle must have been pretty unpleasant.

Used with adjective complement

• become: It is not a very readable piece, and becomes quite turgid when discussing interpretation.