voluptuary

American  

[vuh-luhp-choo-er-ee] / vəˈlʌp tʃuˌɛr i /

noun

plural

voluptuaries

1. a person whose life is devoted to the pursuit and enjoyment of luxury and sensual pleasure.

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adjective

1. of, relating to, or characterized by preoccupation with luxury and sensual pleasure.

   voluptuary tastes.

voluptuary British  

/ vəˈlʌptjʊərɪ /

noun

1. a person devoted or addicted to luxury and sensual pleasures

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adjective

1. of, relating to, characterized by, or furthering sensual gratification or luxury

Etymology

Origin of voluptuary

First recorded in 1595–1605; from French voluptuaire, from Late Latin voluptuārius, from Latin “pertaining to (sensual) pleasure,” equivalent to volupt(ās) “pleasure, delight” + -ārius adjective suffix; see -ary; for -u- see voluptuous

Explanation

A voluptuary loves the good life — he is a person whose fondest wish might be to lie on a velvet sofa while being fed chocolate cupcakes. Another word for voluptuary is hedonist, someone whose favorite things are comfort and luxury, and whose highest priority is sensual pleasure. A voluptuary might be especially fond of fine clothing, delicious food, and a luxurious home. The Latin root of voluputary is voluptas, which means "pleasure," and that is exactly what a voluptuary is preoccupied with, his or her own pleasure.

Example Sentences

Gumprecht Weiss — we learn his name later on — had once been a voluptuary but in middle age now prefers an ascetic, philosophical life.

From Washington Post • Jan. 21, 2015

You probably don't picture a notorious voluptuary, a man who just last year was chowing on double burgers right before a conference on obesity.

From Salon • Dec. 28, 2010

In place of some Hollywood voluptuary, she gives us a Cleopatra who is a working queen and ruler: at one point we even see her in specs sitting at a desk signing state papers.

From The Guardian • Oct. 15, 2010

The eponymous regent, the Prince of Wales who ruled when his father, George III, went mad, was “a voluptuary of the highest order.”

From New York Times • May 16, 2010

His son, the novelist and voluptuary, had a long minority, and succeeded at last to a million ready money and £100,000 a year, only to end life a solitary, despised, exiled man.

From Old and New London Volume I by Thornbury, Walter