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
Steven Thrash, Entertainment Weekly, 25 Oct. 2025
Of course, around her recent wedding to Benny Blanco, Gomez went all-in on bridal whites, and for their newlywed debut on the red carpet at the Academy Museum Gala, both opted for sumptuous, all-black Armani.
—Anna Cafolla, Vogue, 25 Oct. 2025
Culture Minister Rachida Dati later told TF1 that the gang broke into the Galerie d’Apollon — a sumptuous room on the first floor of the Petite Galerie that has housed the French crown jewels since 1887 — and that a piece of jewelry was recovered during the escape.
—Jason Ma, Fortune, 19 Oct. 2025
Air France, for its part, is undertaking a full-cabin makeover that adds business-class suites clad in sumptuous full-grain French leather.
—Chris Dong, Robb Report, 18 Oct. 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 26 Oct. 2025.
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sumptuous
adjective
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