Sumptuous Meaning
/ˈsʌmptʃuəs/Definition, CEFR level C1, pronunciation, examples, and quiz.
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Definition
adjMagnificent, luxurious, splendid.
Sentence Examples
The sumptuous residence of a government official was pillaged.
I've just watched a video on how to bake a sumptuous blueberry pie.
CEFR Practice Quiz
The guests enjoyed a ____ meal with lobster, steak, and fine wine at the grand hotel.
CEFR Practice Quiz (Alternate)
The wedding banquet featured a ____ feast with many different types of delicious and exotic dishes today.
Word Origin & History
From Middle French sumptueux, from Latin sumptuōsus, from sūmptus (“cost, charge, expense”), from sumō (“to take”) + -tus (noun formation suffix).
Literary Quotations & Historical Citations
"Though poor the peasant’s hut, his feasts though small,
He sees his little lot the lot of all;
Sees no contiguous palace rear its head
To shame the meanness of his humble shed;
No costly lord the sumptuous banquet deal
To make him loathe his vegetable meal;"
— 1764, Oliver Goldsmith, The Traveller:
"I wandered on until I came to a sumptuous palace with a garden adorned with fountains and fishponds, and groves and flowers, and orchards laden with delicious fruit."
— 1829, Washington Irving, The Alhambra, archived from the original on 08 Sep 2015:
"It was a sumptuous nature, perhaps, that could not be brought to regard money; a natural generosity and kindness; and possibly a petty vanity that was pleased with praise, even with the praise of waiters and cabmen."
— 1848 November – 1850 December, William Makepeace Thackeray, chapter 31, in The History of Pendennis. […], volume (please specify |volume=I or II), London: Bradbury and Evans, […], published 1849–1850, →OCLC:
"There were some unofficial local rejoicings, but none of the elaborate junketings which marked the birth of earlier railways. The company had little cash to spend on sumptuous cold collations, and the like."
— 1955 April, R. K. Kirkland, “The Staines Branch, Western Region”, in Railway Magazine, page 227:
"Cabaye pulled all the strings in a dominant home performance and capped a majestic individual display with a sumptuous first-time finish into the far corner for his second goal of the afternoon."
— 2012 April 21, Jonathan Jurejko, “Newcastle 3-0 Stoke”, in BBC Sport:
Explore More C1 Vocabulary Words
CEFR Practice Quiz
The guests enjoyed a ____ meal with lobster, steak, and fine wine at the grand hotel.
CEFR Practice Quiz (Alternate)
The wedding banquet featured a ____ feast with many different types of delicious and exotic dishes today.