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• Sybarite
  Sybarite

  noun

  a person devoted to luxury and pleasure.
• sybarite
  sybarite

  noun

  (sometimes capital) a devotee of luxury and the sensual vices

Sybarite

American  

[sib-uh-rahyt] / ˈsɪb əˌraɪt /

noun

1. (usually lowercase) a person devoted to luxury and pleasure.

   Synonyms:

   sensualist

2. an inhabitant of Sybaris.

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sybarite ¹ British  

/ ˈsɪbəˌraɪt, ˌsɪbəˈrɪtɪk /

noun

1. (sometimes capital) a devotee of luxury and the sensual vices

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adjective

1. luxurious; sensuous

sybarite ² British  

/ ˈsɪbəˌraɪt /

noun

1. a native or inhabitant of the ancient Greek colony of Sybaris

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Other Word Forms

• sybaritism
  noun
• sybaritic
  adjective
• sybaritically
  adverb

Etymology

Origin of Sybarite

1590–1600; < Latin Sybarīta < Greek Sybarī́tēs. See Sybaris, -ite ¹

Explanation

If you know someone who's totally addicted to luxurious things and all of life's pleasures, call her a sybarite. Unless she's inviting you over for champagne brunches and showering you with gifts — in which case you should keep your mouth shut. Sybarite was first recorded in the 1600s, meaning a “person devoted to pleasure.” The literal translation of this noun is “inhabitant of Sybaris,” which was an ancient Greek town full of citizens who loved nice things. Today, the word still has the same two meanings: it's either a person who could be described as addicted to pleasures and luxury (like a hedonist), or an actual person who lives in Sybaris.

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

Sybarite sybarite

The Maranello flagship, for example, was overhauled by London’s Sybarite studio and given an undulating facade of red glass and white brick walls.

From New York Times ● Jun. 16, 2021

An extra three furlongs looks sure to help Sybarite and the race in which he ran in November has been an excellent pointer.

From The Guardian ● Mar. 11, 2011

At his recent pre-Festival media day, he said: "At the moment, if you're going to break my arm as to what would be my next possible Imperial Commander, it would be Sybarite."

From The Guardian ● Mar. 11, 2011

Armed with pipes, an invading army from nearby Crotonia assailed the Sybarite cavalry with music, then plunged through the dancing horses to victory.

From Time Magazine Archive

The two confined rooms in which Egbert lodged at a peasant's house, were meanly furnished, but the young engineer was not a Sybarite.

From 'Clear the Track' A Story of To-day by Elisabeth Buerstenbinder (AKA E. Werner)

Cindy may be the opposite of a sybarite, but she knows something about how human beings morph over time.

From Los Angeles Times ● Apr. 22, 2026

The composer compared his relationship with David to an unlikely marriage — with Mr. Bacharach the cosmopolitan sybarite to his partner’s committed family man.

From Washington Post ● Feb. 9, 2023

The painting is singular in Johns’s oeuvre, in part because its title hints at a narrative, one about a sybarite who likes to drink and party.

From New York Times ● Sep. 13, 2021

At once confessional and curatorial, the book portrays Oswalt as not just a celluloid sybarite, but someone dead serious about the art.

From Slate ● Jan. 5, 2015

If one compared it with the room in the same building where young Morgan Wallifarro worked at a flat-topped mahogany table, one found the difference between Spartan simplicity and sybarite elegance.

From The Tempering by Buck, Charles Neville