1
as in pours
to give readily and in large quantities
doting parents lavishing lots of attention on their children
Synonyms & Similar Words
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Antonyms & Near Antonyms
2
as in spends
to use up carelessly
a great actor who lavished his talent in lousy movies
Synonyms & Similar Words
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
Example Sentences
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Recent Examples of lavishes
When Ray lavishes attention on another biker’s pet pillion, Kevin (Jake Shears of the Scissor Sisters), Colin sulks until his master unzips his trousers and gives him a treat.
—
Amy Nicholson, Los Angeles Times, 5 Feb. 2026
Majumdar lavishes her characters with careful attention, and so the reader comes to regard their most troubling actions as justified, if not inevitable.
—Tope Folarin, The Atlantic, 8 Nov. 2025
An ancillary of the brand’s best-selling, ambery-woody eau, each aluminum tube contains a quick-absorbing lotion that lavishes skin with moisture, keeping hands feeling comfortable and cuticles softened with its moisturizing blend of avocado oil, shea butter, plus green tea and chamomile extracts.
—Sophia Panych, Allure, 16 Sep. 2025
Spain’s Mediterranean sun lavishes Sitges promenade, warming the sand and surf anew each day in summer.
—Kelsy Chauvin, Condé Nast Traveler, 5 May 2025
Branagh lavishes close-ups on his actors and gives them standout moments in his screenplay, as when Caitriona Balfe, as Ma, goes into a long, impassioned speech about why the family mustn’t leave Belfast.
—Mick Lasalle, San Francisco Chronicle, 8 Nov. 2021
Amy Nicholson, Los Angeles Times, 5 Feb. 2026
Majumdar lavishes her characters with careful attention, and so the reader comes to regard their most troubling actions as justified, if not inevitable.
—Tope Folarin, The Atlantic, 8 Nov. 2025
An ancillary of the brand’s best-selling, ambery-woody eau, each aluminum tube contains a quick-absorbing lotion that lavishes skin with moisture, keeping hands feeling comfortable and cuticles softened with its moisturizing blend of avocado oil, shea butter, plus green tea and chamomile extracts.
—Sophia Panych, Allure, 16 Sep. 2025
Spain’s Mediterranean sun lavishes Sitges promenade, warming the sand and surf anew each day in summer.
—Kelsy Chauvin, Condé Nast Traveler, 5 May 2025
Branagh lavishes close-ups on his actors and gives them standout moments in his screenplay, as when Caitriona Balfe, as Ma, goes into a long, impassioned speech about why the family mustn’t leave Belfast.
—Mick Lasalle, San Francisco Chronicle, 8 Nov. 2021
Recent Examples of Synonyms for lavishes
Verb
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Sun’s attorney, Wilson Carroll, argued that with rising operations expenses and the amount the company pours back into the property, the increases were fair.—
Ginny Monk,
Hartford Courant,
9 May 2026
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She’s made the ear into which Salieri pours his late-life confessions, and in an even later episode is visited by Alexander Pushkin (Jack Farthing), the Russian writer, who wants to write a play based on the Mozart-Salieri legend.—
Television Critic,
Los Angeles Times,
8 May 2026
Verb
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Baltimore County spends significantly less per resident on fire and EMS services than many comparable jurisdictions.—
Nick Stewart,
Baltimore Sun,
9 May 2026
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San Francisco currently spends about $700 million to $800 million per year on homelessness, aided by the passage in 2018 of the Proposition C gross receipts tax on businesses with annual revenue greater than $50 million, but has yet to make a dent in its intractable homelessness problem.—
Adam B. Summers,
Oc Register,
9 May 2026
Verb
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The Deb drama is far from over, as the film's director and costar Rebel Wilson heaps new allegations onto the already sizable legal pile.—
Ryan Coleman,
Entertainment Weekly,
24 Nov. 2025
Verb
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Yet, the feast of fashion and style doesn’t make up for a sparse plot that loses its steam by the third episode.—
Aramide Tinubu,
Variety,
8 May 2026
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An antagonist who feels himself a protagonist, Salieri is the main character of the play, and to a great extent, the film, while Mozart functions as the unwitting instrument through which Salieri loses his faith in God.—
Television Critic,
Los Angeles Times,
8 May 2026
Cite this Entry
“Lavishes.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/lavishes. Accessed 14 May. 2026.
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