Definition of "zest"

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

Almighty vanity! to thee they owe / Their zest of pleasure, and their balm of woe.

1728, Edward Young, Love of Fame, the Universal Passion, Satire II in The Works of the Reverend Edward Young, London: P. Brown, H. Hill & S. Payne, 1765, Volume I, p. 85

Liberality of disposition and conduct gives the highest zest and relish to social intercourse.

1807, Thomas Cogan, An Ethical Treatise on the Passions, Bath: Hazard & Binns, Part 1, Disquisition 1, Chapter 1, Section 1 “On the utility of the Passions and Affections,” p. 51

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, […], 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, [Florence, Italy: […] Tipografia Giuntina, […]]; republished as Lady Chatterley’s Lover (eBook no. 0100181h.html)‎, Australia: Project Gutenberg Australia, August 2011, archived from the original on 11 November 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

59 sneak in some red Smuggle a bottle of wine, two glasses, and a corkscrew into a long matinee. Red wine is rich in life-extending antioxidants, and the caper will add zest even to a bad movie.

2008 January–February, “70 Ways to Improve Every Day of the Week”, in Men's Health, volume 23, number 1, page 135

The green zest of walnuts was used by the women to shine their teeth and it also gave a beautiful rust colour to their lips.

2006, N. J. Nusha, On the Edge (Short Stories), Lahore: Sang-e-Meel Publications, page 85

Strains ſo artleſs tho’ we proffer,Hearts o’er flowing zest the offer.

1792, James Cobb, The Siege of Belgrade, a Comic Opera, in Three Acts, page 47