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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
Meg Walters, InStyle, 14 June 2026
The house started as an Italian supplier of fine fabrics, sourcing raw wool from around the world and then processing it into the materials needed for bespoke tailoring houses to build the most sumptuous luxury suits imaginable.
—Dave Schilling
contributing
follow, Los Angeles Times, 9 June 2026
Fathers with impeccable taste are sure to resonate with the idea of a sumptuous brunch, a barbecue concert or a superb wine dinner.
—Laura Ness, Mercury News, 9 June 2026
In fact, in a time when artificial intelligence imperils the livelihoods – and lives – of laborers across economic classes, sumptuous spectacle can be an act of resistance in its own right.
—Eileen G'sell, The Conversation, 8 June 2026
See All Example Sentences for sumptuous
Cite this Entry
“Sumptuous.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/sumptuous. Accessed 17 Jun. 2026.
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sumptuous
adjective
