sumptuous
adjective
Did you know?
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
John Arlidge, Travel + Leisure, 7 Feb. 2026
The scenes in the French capital are full of welcome color and life — everything from receptions in salons or at Versailles to a street carnival to a mermaid swimming in an aquarium — all chances to display sumptuous costumes by Corinne Bruand.
—Jocelyn Noveck, Boston Herald, 5 Feb. 2026
Pair it, as Lulu and Georgia has, with marbles and deep greens for something sumptuous and stylish.
—Julia Harrison, Architectural Digest, 5 Feb. 2026
To undertake the project, interior designer Paolo Moschino teamed up with the British joinery firm James Wellesley, with the two collaborating to fashion a sumptuous and deeply personal home rooted in tradition and rife with exquisite custom detailing from floor to ceiling.
—Tori Latham, Robb Report, 5 Feb. 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 10 Feb. 2026.
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sumptuous
adjective
