sumptuary
adjective
sump·tu·ary
ˈsəm(p)-chə-ˌwer-ē 
1
: relating to personal expenditures and especially to prevent extravagance and luxury
conservative sumptuary tastes—
John Cheever
John Cheever2
: designed to regulate extravagant expenditures or habits especially on moral or religious grounds
sumptuary laws
sumptuary tax
Examples of sumptuary in a Sentence
Recent Examples on the Web
Daston relates in comic detail how sumptuary rules in France failed to be followed time and again.
—Rivka Galchen, The New Yorker, 6 July 2022
To protect the social order, sumptuary laws were passed that discouraged commoners from dressing above their class.
—Nick Haramis, New York Times, 6 Sep. 2023
In 1326 the women of Florence petitioned the Duchess of Calabria to ask her husband the duke to relax legislation preventing them from wearing false hair, part of a package of sumptuary laws that ordered people to wear clothing, accessories, and hairstyles suitable to their social positions.
—Mary Wellesley, The New York Review of Books, 5 Oct. 2022
English parliaments had a habit of passing sumptuary laws on luxury clothing under one monarch and repealing them under another, Blackstone went on to explain.
—Matt Ford, The New Republic, 8 July 2022
But, even when issued repeatedly, with more and more admonitory language, the sumptuary laws were routinely violated, year after year.
—Rivka Galchen, The New Yorker, 6 July 2022
Strict sumptuary laws dictated what colors and styles of clothing people of different classes could wear.
—Meilan Solly, Smithsonian Magazine, 8 Nov. 2021
Despite their rising status in the merchant class of Bruges, the Arnolfinis simply could not possess certain luxuries due to sumptuary laws, codifying details as small as squirrel bellies.
—Dan Neil, WSJ, 8 July 2021
Discourse surrounding poulaines reached such heights that in 1463, England’s Edward IV passed sumptuary laws in London that limited toe length to a mere two inches, per Atlas Obscura.
—Nora McGreevy, Smithsonian Magazine, 14 June 2021
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Rivka Galchen, The New Yorker, 6 July 2022
To protect the social order, sumptuary laws were passed that discouraged commoners from dressing above their class.
—Nick Haramis, New York Times, 6 Sep. 2023
In 1326 the women of Florence petitioned the Duchess of Calabria to ask her husband the duke to relax legislation preventing them from wearing false hair, part of a package of sumptuary laws that ordered people to wear clothing, accessories, and hairstyles suitable to their social positions.
—Mary Wellesley, The New York Review of Books, 5 Oct. 2022
English parliaments had a habit of passing sumptuary laws on luxury clothing under one monarch and repealing them under another, Blackstone went on to explain.
—Matt Ford, The New Republic, 8 July 2022
But, even when issued repeatedly, with more and more admonitory language, the sumptuary laws were routinely violated, year after year.
—Rivka Galchen, The New Yorker, 6 July 2022
Strict sumptuary laws dictated what colors and styles of clothing people of different classes could wear.
—Meilan Solly, Smithsonian Magazine, 8 Nov. 2021
Despite their rising status in the merchant class of Bruges, the Arnolfinis simply could not possess certain luxuries due to sumptuary laws, codifying details as small as squirrel bellies.
—Dan Neil, WSJ, 8 July 2021
Discourse surrounding poulaines reached such heights that in 1463, England’s Edward IV passed sumptuary laws in London that limited toe length to a mere two inches, per Atlas Obscura.
—Nora McGreevy, Smithsonian Magazine, 14 June 2021
See More
These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'sumptuary.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.
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Cite this Entry
“Sumptuary.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/sumptuary. Accessed 28 Nov. 2023.
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