hedonistic
Americanadjective
Other Word Forms
Explanation
A hedonistic person is committed to seeking sensual pleasure — the type of guy you might find in a massage parlor or at an all-you-can-eat buffet. This term — along with the related words hedonist and hedonistic — is derived from the Greek word hedone, "pleasure." The Cyreniacs taught that physical gratification is superior to the mental satisfaction offered by anticipation and remembrance. That's why hedonistic folks revel in pleasure, and demand it in the present tense.
Vocabulary lists containing hedonistic
Mardi Gras: Fun
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"Simon's Saga," Vocabulary from Episode 35
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Kohlberg's Six Stages of Moral Reasoning
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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.
The Swedish singer Zara Larsson released her debut album more than a decade ago, but she’s finally won over American audiences with the hedonistic trance-pop of “Midnight Sun.”
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 26, 2026
He takes up work in a hotel kitchen and enjoys hedonistic nights in the city’s clubs.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 24, 2026
It might be a long way from those hedonistic Ibiza days, but Jones himself took a shine to Rodgers' hometown and re-located from Paris - where he had been living.
From BBC ● Jan. 29, 2026
I’ve always appreciated a fur coat’s timeless and hedonistic glamour, and any lover of ’60s and ’70s fashion needs a shag coat to accompany their nights out in platform boots.
From Los Angeles Times ● Dec. 4, 2025
The old man watched him with victorious merriment, sitting in his musty blue armchair like some satanic and hedonistic deity on a throne, a stolen U.S.
From "Catch-22" by Joseph Heller
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.
