Synonym Chooser

How is the word voluptuous distinct from other similar adjectives?

Some common synonyms of voluptuous are luxurious, sensual, and sensuous. While all these words mean "relating to or providing pleasure through gratification of the senses," voluptuous implies more strongly an abandonment especially to sensual pleasure.

a voluptuous feast

When is it sensible to use luxurious instead of voluptuous?

While the synonyms luxurious and voluptuous are close in meaning, luxurious suggests the indulgence of sensuous pleasure inducing bodily ease and languor.

a luxurious hotel

When can sensual be used instead of voluptuous?

The words sensual and voluptuous can be used in similar contexts, 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 might sensuous be a better fit than voluptuous?

The synonyms sensuous and voluptuous are sometimes interchangeable, but sensuous implies gratification of the senses for the sake of aesthetic pleasure.

the sensuous delights of great music

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 voluptuous The brand unveiled its retro designs on its Instagram posts featuring women in playful vignettes – voluptuous motifs of bygone beauty in seductive positions. Nicole Fallert, USA Today, 10 July 2025 Subsequent excavations at the site have unearthed voluptuous female figurines, prompting researchers to speculate that Catalhoyuk’s Neolithic inhabitants worshipped a fertility deity known as the Mother Goddess. Meilan Solly, Smithsonian Magazine, 2 July 2025 One is a fearless, intelligent rape survivor and police detective on Law & Order: Special Victims Unit, while the other is best known as a 1950s bombshell whose voluptuous assets once even caused Sophia Loren to give her some serious side-eye. Maureen Lee Lenker, EW.com, 27 June 2025 This Gandini design didn’t win its Ferrari V-8 class, but stood out for its stance, proportion, and angular lines amidst later, more voluptuous eight-cylinder Prancing Horses, such as the 360 Modena and 430. Ben Oliver, Robb Report, 4 June 2025 See All Example Sentences for voluptuous
Recent Examples of Synonyms for voluptuous
sensual
Adjective
  • The look’s holistic effect contrasted sensual styling on the top, with streamlined suited inspiration with the pants.
    Julia Teti, Footwear News, 9 Sep. 2025
  • In between times, there are long shots of the gingko, tree’s-eye views of what is happening on the ground and squelching closeups of germinating seeds – luscious and inescapably sensual.
    Stephanie Bunbury, Deadline, 5 Sep. 2025

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Cite this Entry

“Voluptuous.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/voluptuous. Accessed 16 Sep. 2025.

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