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
Shoko Wanger, Architectural Digest, 18 July 2025
The room is also fitted with a fireplace, adding to the sumptuous feel.
—Demetrius Simms, Robb Report, 18 July 2025
Summer 2024 saw a new restaurant opening, which focuses on sumptuous Greek cooking.
—Chadner Navarro, Vogue, 16 July 2025
Package benefits include sumptuous suite accommodations, daily breakfast, a $100 hotel credit, a discount on one of the property's signature massages and welcome cocktails to kick off the celebration.
—Carley Rojas Ávila, Forbes.com, 14 July 2025
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Cite this Entry
“Sumptuous.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/sumptuous. Accessed 4 Aug. 2025.
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sumptuous
adjective
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