sumptuous
adjective
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Raindrops on roses and whiskers on kittens may be a few of your favorite things, but are they sumptuous? Alas, though the best things in life are often free, sumptuous is a child of the Latin word sumptus, meaning “expense,” and it typically describes things that can only be had at some significant expense. A sumptuous lifestyle, for example, is more likely to involve silver-white bling than a silver-white winter that melts into spring. Sumptus has another English relation, this one tied even more closely to conspicuous consumption: sumptuary laws are largely historical regulations limiting extravagant expenditures and habits, especially on moral or religious grounds. (The sump in consumption is coincidental; that word comes from consume, which has its roots in Latin sumere meaning “to take up, take.”)
Examples of sumptuous in a Sentence
Liquid Icons, Robb Report, 5 Sep. 2025
The sumptuous 160-room hotel boasts eight restaurants, a spa and three retail outlets.
—Luisa Zargani, Footwear News, 4 Sep. 2025
The scenery and costumes are sumptuous, but the script is another thing.
—Caryn James, HollywoodReporter, 3 Sep. 2025
Both feature impressive, highly demanding central performances, goosebump-inducing music courtesy of Oscar winner Daniel Blumberg, and sumptuous world building.
—Radhika Seth, Vogue, 1 Sep. 2025
See All Example Sentences for sumptuous
Cite this Entry
“Sumptuous.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/sumptuous. Accessed 9 Sep. 2025.
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sumptuous
adjective
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