Opulent Meaning
/ˈɒpjʊlənt/Definition, CEFR level C1, pronunciation, examples, and quiz.
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Definition
adjLuxuriant, and ostentatiously magnificent.
adjRich, sumptuous and extravagant.
Sentence Examples
Sami lived in an opulent mansion in Cairo.
Boston is a relatively opulent city.
CEFR Practice Quiz
The hotel rooms are cheap, but the penthouse suite is extremely ____ with marble floors.
CEFR Practice Quiz (Alternate)
The guests were amazed by the ____ interior of the mansion, filled with rare art and antiques.
Word Origin & History
Borrowed from Latin opulēns, opulentus, from ops (“wealth, power, resources”), from Proto-Indo-European *h₃op- (“to work; produce in abundance”).
Literary Quotations & Historical Citations
"He saw himself, in a smart suit and a songkok, bowed into the opulent suites of Ritzes and Waldorfs and baring, under dark glasses, a hairy chest to a milder sun by a snakeless sea."
— 1958, Anthony Burgess, The Enemy in the Blanket (The Malayan Trilogy), published 1972, page 302:
"It is a glossy film with gross, opulent opticals and little comic, or any, relief; it has the jaundiced complexion of an early 60s underground film, which it is; it is ponderous, Wagnerian, and feels about five hours long (its running time is about an hour)."
— 1976 August 14, Gary Jane Hoisington, “Locker Room As The Site Of Religious Ecstasy”, in Gay Community News, volume 4, number 7, page 9:
"The outdoor setting around the lily ponds in the twin courtyards of the Enid A. Haupt Conservatory is opulent with maples in radiant hues, and a veritable forest of conifers and bamboo with underplantings like bush-clover, silver grass and balloon flowers from the “seven flowers of autumn” cited in early Japanese poems."
— 2007 October 19, Paula Deitz, “In Autumn, a Garden Lover’s Thoughts Turn to Kiku”, in New York Times:
"For all England was his fief, held in vassalage to God and to no man alive, his heart now sang; allwhither his empire spread, opulent in grain and metal and every revenue of the earth, and in stalwart men (his chattels), and in strong orderly cities, where the windows would be adorned with scarlet hangings, and women (with golden hair and red lax lips) would presently admire as King Edward rode slowly by at the head of a resplendent retinue."
— 2012, James Branch Cabell, Chivalry, page 138:
Explore More C1 Vocabulary Words
CEFR Practice Quiz
The hotel rooms are cheap, but the penthouse suite is extremely ____ with marble floors.
CEFR Practice Quiz (Alternate)
The guests were amazed by the ____ interior of the mansion, filled with rare art and antiques.