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Synonyms

luxuriate

American  
[luhg-zhoor-ee-ayt, luhk-shoor-] / lʌgˈʒʊər iˌeɪt, lʌkˈʃʊər- /

verb (used without object)

  • luxuriates,
    present (3rd person singular)
  • luxuriated,
    past participle,  past
  • luxuriating
    present participle
  1. to enjoy oneself without stint; revel.

    to luxuriate in newly acquired wealth.

  2. to grow fully or abundantly; thrive.

    The plants luxuriated in the new soil.


luxuriate British  
/ lʌɡˈzjʊərɪˌeɪt /

verb

  1. (foll by in) to take voluptuous pleasure; revel

  2. to flourish extensively or profusely

  3. to live in a sumptuous way

"Collins English Dictionary — Complete & Unabridged" 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

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Etymology

Origin of luxuriate

1615–25; < Latin luxuriātus, past participle of luxuriāre. See luxuriant, -ate 1


Explanation

To luxuriate is to enjoy yourself extravagantly or to an extreme degree. Luxuriate can also mean to thrive, like a plant that grows wildly. A luxury is something expensive and unnecessary, like eating at a fancy restaurant. To luxuriate is to enjoy yourself in a similar way, not necessarily by spending a lot, but by enjoying something to the fullest. Lying in the sun for hours is luxuriating. Reading in the bookstore for hours is luxuriating. Also, luxuriating is a type of prosperous growth. A banana tree that yields a lot of bananas is luxuriating: it's thriving and growing.

Keep Reading on Vocabulary.com

Vocabulary lists containing luxuriate

Example Sentences

Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.

See Examples For:

They wait for hours to luxuriate in the atmosphere—and Grant Mohwinkel’s chemistry.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Apr. 9, 2026

There’s no evidence that this generation intends to make pining their only romantic activity; it’s more that they are very content, at the moment, to luxuriate in the many conduits for yearning available to them.

From Salon ● Feb. 21, 2026

It’s about creating spaces where LGBTQ+ people can be visible but also feel safe to be in community, a moment to live without fear and luxuriate in collective joy.

From Slate ● Jun. 2, 2025

The camera moves just so, never racing or crawling, which allows you to luxuriate in the details that fill in the picture and deepen the realism.

From New York Times ● Jun. 6, 2024

We have entered the safest cocoon our affections can make, and we lie there, and we luxuriate in the wealth of the moment, and gently fall into each other, fall into sleep.

From "Every Day" by David Levithan

Before Kercher’s murder corkscrews their story, “The Twisted Tale of Amanda Knox” luxuriates in the postcard-perfect view from the apartment Amanda shared with Meredith and two Italian women.

From Salon ● Aug. 20, 2025

And Strong, an enthusiastic cook, luxuriates in the bounty of fruits and vegetables growing around their home.

From Los Angeles Times ● Apr. 8, 2025

Watch “The Taste of Things,” a movie that luxuriates in France’s gourmand tradition.

From New York Times ● Nov. 10, 2023

A pastiche of F. Scott Fitzgerald’s and Edith Wharton’s fiction, the story luxuriates in the tragic fate of America’s wealthiest man, Benjamin Rask.

From Washington Post ● May 17, 2022

True, it luxuriates there, but it may be depended upon to thrive anywhere unless the soil is a stiff clay, chalky, or too much parched up in the summer.

From Trees and Shrubs for English Gardens by Ernest Thomas Cook

Conductor Roberto Kalb luxuriated in the rich orchestration.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 10, 2026

He said she was an "emotional parasite" who fed off the couple's despair and "luxuriated" in offering them false hope.

From BBC ● Nov. 6, 2025

Every summer in the mid to early aughts, instead of getting a job or hanging out with my friends, I luxuriated in months of unfettered internet access on the computer already in my bedroom.

From Slate ● Jun. 20, 2025

Following the death of co-founder Andy Fletcher, Depeche Mode returned to L.A. for an emotional two-hour show that luxuriated in a sensual gloom.

From Los Angeles Times ● Apr. 2, 2023

I flung back my thin cotton sheet and stretched my arms to the ceiling and luxuriated in the chill air.

From "The Evolution of Calpurnia Tate" by Jacqueline Kelly

The couple will still be on a high after all the festivities and luxuriating in the afterglow of the love — and cash — bestowed upon them.

From MarketWatch ● Apr. 13, 2026

Far from luxuriating in a serene and pristine writing environment, Ms. Lewin reveals, Woolf worked amid “old nibs, bits of string, used matches, rusty paper-clips, crumpled envelopes, broken cigarette-holders, etc.”

From The Wall Street Journal ● Mar. 27, 2026

Like everyone else at Crooked Con, Piker is luxuriating in what he thinks is a vibe shift.

From Slate ● Nov. 19, 2025

It begins innocently enough: the two sit down to steaks at Paddy’s, luxuriating in the rare act of sharing a proper meal.

From Salon ● Jul. 22, 2025

For the next few minutes Desdemona was silent, luxuriating in the warm foot bath.

From "Middlesex: A Novel" by Jeffrey Eugenides

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