Synonym Chooser

How is the word luxurious distinct from other similar adjectives?

Some common synonyms of luxurious are sensual, sensuous, and voluptuous. While all these words mean "relating to or providing pleasure through gratification of the senses," luxurious suggests the indulgence of sensuous pleasure inducing bodily ease and languor.

a luxurious hotel

When is it sensible to use sensual instead of luxurious?

The synonyms sensual and luxurious are sometimes interchangeable, but sensual tends to imply the gratification of the senses or the indulgence of the physical appetites as ends in themselves.

a life devoted to sensual pleasures

When is sensuous a more appropriate choice than luxurious?

In some situations, the words sensuous and luxurious are roughly equivalent. However, sensuous implies gratification of the senses for the sake of aesthetic pleasure.

the sensuous delights of great music

When might voluptuous be a better fit than luxurious?

The meanings of voluptuous and luxurious largely overlap; however, voluptuous implies more strongly an abandonment especially to sensual pleasure.

a voluptuous feast

Example Sentences

Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
Recent Examples of luxurious Learn more about these luxurious homes and have a look inside. Lorenzino Estrada, AZCentral.com, 3 Sep. 2025 For years, Sir Richard Branson's Necker Island has served as a luxurious getaway for the elite, including Barack and Michelle Obama, Princess Diana, Robert De Niro, Kate Winslet, Kevin Costner and more. Christina Dugan Ramirez, FOXNews.com, 3 Sep. 2025 The brand’s classic weave fabric, comprising 92% polyester and 8% linen, also has a surprisingly soft, textured, and luxurious feel. Blake Bakkila, Architectural Digest, 3 Sep. 2025 The Bocelli family also owns the luxurious Alpemare Beach Club in nearby Forte dei Marmi. Jim Dobson, Forbes.com, 3 Sep. 2025 See All Example Sentences for luxurious
Recent Examples of Synonyms for luxurious
Adjective
  • In 2022, a Chenequa house on the opposite side of the lake sold for $15 million as part of a post-pandemic ultra-luxury home boom in Wisconsin.
    Francesca Pica, jsonline.com, 8 Sep. 2025
  • This ultra-luxury flagship will feature 163 keys, many with private plunge pools and views of the Sea of Cortez.
    Nicole Trilivas, Forbes.com, 26 Aug. 2025
Adjective
  • His relationship with Algeria is sensual.
    Elsa Keslassy, Variety, 2 Sep. 2025
  • Reading for so many of the tech-pilled among us is merely a method by which to upload bullet points to your brain, rather than a sensual endeavor that allows you to get caught up in someone else’s story.
    Maris Kreizman August 28, Literary Hub, 28 Aug. 2025
Adjective
  • The summer of 2025 was essentially a deluxe version of 2022.
    Nick Miller, New York Times, 5 Sep. 2025
  • As the drinks flow during a gathering of faculty and PhD students at their deluxe digs, Alma’s doting husband Frederick (Michael Stuhlbarg), another shrink, teasingly asks what happens if one of them gets tenure and the other doesn’t.
    David Rooney, HollywoodReporter, 29 Aug. 2025
Adjective
  • Ksenia, whom Baranov meets at a hedonistic party in the early 1990s as counterculturals rage amid the dawn of a new, post-USSR Russian era, is indicated as a grifting wild thing, the type who always has a mysterious male benefactor to keep her in minks.
    Ryan Lattanzio, IndieWire, 31 Aug. 2025
  • This is also true of being hedonistic and powerful, although good people were equally powerful or hedonistic than not good people.
    Dana Taylor, USA Today, 28 Aug. 2025
Adjective
  • Beyond it is a three-hectare haven of silvery olive trees, luxuriant Washingtonia palms, and lawns where peacocks wander freely.
    Rebecca Ann Hughes, Forbes.com, 5 Aug. 2025
  • Meanwhile, a beard provided a simpler solution: a luxuriant facial covering requiring only the occasional scissor trim—no barber necessary.
    Margaret Talbot, New Yorker, 21 July 2025
Adjective
  • The designer, who turned 76 on June 27, is known for her lavish birthday bashes.
    Catherine Santino, PEOPLE, 8 Sep. 2025
  • Some have lost fortunes due to family drama and trauma, seen their homes go up in flames or watched their money disappear due to too much partying and lavish spending.
    Phaedra Trethan, USA Today, 6 Sep. 2025
Adjective
  • But where the book had the benefit of MacDonald’s beautiful and searching interior monologue, the movie chooses to articulate her pain — as well as her refusal to process it — from the outside in.
    David Ehrlich, IndieWire, 2 Sep. 2025
  • SciAm always educates and delights me, and inspires a sense of awe for our vast, beautiful universe.
    Max Springer, Scientific American, 2 Sep. 2025
Adjective
  • The sumptuous 160-room hotel boasts eight restaurants, a spa and three retail outlets.
    Luisa Zargani, Footwear News, 4 Sep. 2025
  • The scenery and costumes are sumptuous, but the script is another thing.
    Caryn James, HollywoodReporter, 3 Sep. 2025

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Cite this Entry

“Luxurious.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/luxurious. Accessed 10 Sep. 2025.

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