lavish
Americanadjective
-
expended, bestowed, or occurring in profusion.
lavish spending.
- Synonyms:
- wild, unrestrained, wasteful, unreasonable, thriftless, intemperate, improvident, immoderate, extravagant, excessive
-
using or giving in great amounts; prodigal (often followed byof ).
lavish of his time;
lavish of affection.
- Synonyms:
- unsparing, openhanded, munificent, liberal, free, effusive, bountiful, generous
- Antonyms:
- tight-fisted, tight, stingy, parsimonious, miserly, cheap
verb (used with object)
-
lavishes,
present (3rd person singular)
-
lavished,
past participle, past
-
lavishing
present participle
adjective
-
prolific, abundant, or profuse
-
generous; unstinting; liberal
-
extravagant; prodigal; wasteful
lavish expenditure
verb
Synonym Usage
Lavish, prodigal, profuse refer to that which exists in abundance and is poured out copiously. Lavish suggests (sometimes excessive) generosity and openhandedness: lavish hospitality; much too lavish. Prodigal suggests wastefulness, improvidence, and reckless impatience of restraint: a prodigal extravagance. Profuse emphasizes abundance, but may suggest overemotionalism, exaggeration, or the like: profuse thanks, compliments, apologies.
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
-
lavishernoun
-
lavishmentnoun
-
lavishnessnoun
-
overlavishnessnoun
-
overlavishadjective
-
unlavishadjective
-
unlavishedadjective
-
lavishlyadverb
Inflected Forms
Participles
Conjugated Forms
Present
-
lavishsimple
-
lavishessimple
-
have lavishedperfect
-
has lavishedperfect
-
am lavishingprogressive
-
are lavishingprogressive
-
is lavishingprogressive
-
have been lavishingperfect progressive
-
has been lavishingperfect progressive
Past
-
lavishedsimple
-
had lavishedperfect
-
was lavishingprogressive
-
were lavishingprogressive
-
had been lavishingperfect progressive
Future
Etymology
Origin of lavish
First recorded in 1425–75; late Middle English lavas “profusion” (noun), “profuse” (adjective), from Middle French lavasse, lavache “downpour of rain,” derivative of laver “to wash,” from Latin lavāre
Explanation
Lavish means "generous and extravagant" as an adjective and "to give generously" as a verb. If you don't like it when people lavish you with attention, you might appreciate a lavish spread of excellent food instead. Lavish comes from the Old French lavache meaning "deluge, torrent," referring to rain. When you see it, think of a shower of good things coming down on you as you never use lavish with something bad. Didn't your parents lavish you with praise and love when you were small? With lavish as an adjective, you can rephrase that question like this: Didn't your parents offer you lavish praise and love when you were little?
Vocabulary lists containing lavish
"The Odyssey" by Homer, Books 1–7
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Vocabulary from the Introduction to "Reality is Broken" by Jane McGonigal
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Grade 9, List 6
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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.
See Examples For:
"It's the end of the glitter," professed president Nasser Al-Khelaifi after years of lavish spending, ushering out the "flashy, bling-bling" era.
From BBC ● Oct. 14, 2026
TV host Dr. Phil McGraw and his wife, Robin McGraw, are ready to bid farewell to their longtime Beverly Hills, Calif., estate, putting the lavish property on the market for an eye-watering $67.5 million.
From MarketWatch ● Oct. 12, 2026
Sean ‘Diddy’ Combs has reportedly been placed in solitary confinement following allegations in an NBC News report of his lavish federal prison lifestyle.
From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 8, 2026
You may be wondering just what kind of company would be so willing to lavish the resources required for a full-scale New York City musical, accompanied by loads of free merch.
From Slate ● Oct. 1, 2026
Campers, Amazons and Lares crowded the mess hall for a lavish dinner.
From "The Son of Neptune" by Rick Riordan
The compassionate attention she lavishes on her gentle, troubled protagonist opens up an entire world, if you’re willing to take in what’s been hiding in plain sight.
From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 8, 2024
“For this reason, I wish in my first encyclical to speak of the love which God lavishes upon us, and which we in turn must share with others.”
From Los Angeles Times ● Dec. 31, 2022
Given the attention Yuasa lavishes on these passages, it’s clear that he loves the idea of 14th-century performers rocking out like modern-day arena gods.
From New York Times ● Aug. 11, 2022
Or it lavishes attention on media performances, because the insiders are supposed to be good at that: manipulating the media.
From Salon ● Jul. 31, 2021
He lavishes attention on the great storm-colored beast and her tiny rider from the moment we meet in the morning until the moment they disappear for the parade.
From "Water for Elephants" by Sara Gruen
A Singaporean man has lost a court case to claw back hundreds of thousands of dollars that he had lavished on his ex-girlfriend while they were together.
From BBC ● Sep. 11, 2026
With vast sums lavished on artificial intelligence investment over the past two years, markets are growing increasingly nervous about whether firms can deliver results to match.
From Barron's ● Aug. 25, 2026
Some cabinet members, like Rubio and CIA Director John Ratcliffe, lavished the president with adulation in their comments.
From Salon ● Jun. 2, 2026
He had no patience for what he didn’t like, but when he was in the presence of something he adored, he lavished his attention and could rise to his own level of greatness.
From Los Angeles Times ● May 12, 2026
Joe lavished every care on his love, and he perfected a lonely set of rules which might have gone like this: 1.
From "East of Eden" by John Steinbeck
Allies hope to avoid a blow-up in Turkey by showcasing new spending and deals, and lavishing on hospitality.
From Barron's ● Jun. 30, 2026
Companies were growing and bosses were lavishing ever-higher pay and perks.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Mar. 30, 2026
For much of his second term, Trump has seemed to bestride the globe, lavishing his attention on a wide range of international issues.
From Slate ● Mar. 10, 2026
In exchange for lavishing billions of dollars upon MLB teams over the last couple of decades, local television providers demanded exclusivity.
From Los Angeles Times ● Nov. 15, 2024
Paying her sailors and soldiers at the meanest rates, she gives large salaries to their officers, lavishing incredible sums on many of them for doing literally nothing.
From Sketches of Reforms and Reformers, of Great Britain and Ireland by Henry B. Stanton
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Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
