adjective
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having or indicating wealth
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abundant or plentiful
Other Word Forms
Etymology
Origin of opulent
1595–1605; < Latin opulentus wealthy, equivalent to op- (stem of ops power, wealth) + -ulentus -ulent
Explanation
Opulent is a word that you will hear a lot around rich people looking to show off. "Remember the opulent buffet at Carrie’s sweet sixteen? Sixteen chocolate cakes iced in gold leaf!" If you want to remember that opulent is a word describing lavish displays of wealth, you can think of the word opal to help you remember it — opal being a rare gem. And if you are lucky enough to be able to afford opulence yourself, don’t describe it that way. The word contains connotations of pretentious. And gold leaf cake aside, who wants that?
Vocabulary lists containing opulent
100 Top "SAT" Words
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Grade 10, List 6
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I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings
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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.
There are opulent chairs, upholstered in pale yellow; a black and white print of a trawler that nods to Hull's fishing heritage.
From BBC ● Jul. 29, 2026
But its soaring atriums decorated with onyx and green marble could hardly be better calculated to induce jealousy in Trump, who frequently raves about the opulent dwellings of other foreign leaders.
From Barron's ● Jul. 7, 2026
Every exterior structure, from the guesthouse to the barn, has been renovated to ensure that they offer the same opulent luxury as the main residence.
From MarketWatch ● Jun. 2, 2026
Still, I’m holding out hope that a very different HBO series — Julian Fellowes’ opulent period soap ‘The Gilded Age’ — lands in that eighth slot for its excellent third season.”
From Los Angeles Times ● May 21, 2026
South Korean soaps—which display the fast cars, opulent houses, and surging confidence of South Korea—are classified as “impure recorded visual materials” and are illegal to watch in North Korea.
From "Escape from Camp 14: One Man's Remarkable Odyssey from North Korea to Freedom in the West" by Blaine Harden
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
