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
Condé Nast, Condé Nast Traveler, 21 Feb. 2026
The play, a sumptuous historical pastiche, is both an invitation and a daunting challenge to theater makers.
—Theater Critic, Los Angeles Times, 18 Feb. 2026
Only Ralph could make tweed, velvet, fur pelts and suiting sexy and recognizable and stylishly sumptuous.
—Anika Reed, USA Today, 18 Feb. 2026
Though the hotel is gone now, the casual but upscale Euro-American restaurant still retains a sumptuous spirit in its cigar lounge.
—Brandee Gruener, Southern Living, 16 Feb. 2026
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 Feb. 2026.
Copy CitationKids Definition
sumptuous
adjective
