lavish

1 of 2

adjective

lav·​ish ˈla-vish How to pronounce lavish (audio)
1
: expending or bestowing profusely : prodigal
lavish donors
lavish in giving praise to her employees
2
a
: expended or produced in abundance
the lavish attentions of his motherGeorge Meredith
b
: marked by profusion or excess
a lavish feast
a lavish home
lavishly adverb
lavishness noun

lavish

2 of 2

verb

lavished; lavishing; lavishes

transitive verb

: to expend or bestow with profusion : squander
Choose the Right Synonym for lavish

profuse, lavish, prodigal, luxuriant, lush, exuberant mean giving or given out in great abundance.

profuse implies pouring forth without restraint.

profuse apologies

lavish suggests an unstinted or unmeasured profusion.

a lavish party

prodigal implies reckless or wasteful lavishness threatening to lead to early exhaustion of resources.

prodigal spending

luxuriant suggests a rich and splendid abundance.

a luxuriant beard

lush suggests rich, soft luxuriance.

a lush green lawn

exuberant implies marked vitality or vigor in what produces abundantly.

an exuberant imagination

Examples of lavish in a Sentence

Adjective a lavish display of flowers this lavish consumption of our natural resources simply cannot continue Verb doting parents lavishing lots of attention on their children a great actor who lavished his talent in lousy movies
Recent Examples on the Web
Adjective
This lavish egg is made in batches of 10 because the product is so complex. Helen Chandler-Wilde, Fortune Europe, 22 Mar. 2024 The lavish Beverly Hills mansion where the Menendez brothers fatally shot their parents in 1989 has sold for $17 million, exactly 28 years to the day after the brothers were convicted of the brutal murders. Caroline Petrow-Cohen, Los Angeles Times, 22 Mar. 2024 And the lavish La Prairie Spa, complete with a rooftop pool, provides a tranquil place to rejuvenate. Amy Louise Bailey, Travel + Leisure, 22 Mar. 2024 Across the world, Jews retell the story of Queen Esther in lavish spectacles, called Purim spiels, that feature costumes, jokes, satire, noisemakers and food and wine. Esther Brownsmith, The Conversation, 21 Mar. 2024 The six-part series, which is shooting in Austria and Hungary, chronicles the infamous Congress of Vienna, an opulent, nine-month-long, lavish celebration that led to a century of peace in Europe for the first time. Ed Meza, Variety, 20 Mar. 2024 Once known for lavish stock bonuses for strong performers, Meta lowered the payout from 85% to 65% of their available bonuses for those with good, but not great, performance ratings. Paolo Confino, Fortune, 20 Mar. 2024 Born in 2006, Barron spent most of his childhood at the Trumps' lavish New York City penthouse, initially staying behind with his mother in Manhattan when Donald began his presidential term in January 2017. Virginia Chamlee, Peoplemag, 20 Mar. 2024 The first episode of the lavish period epic racked up 9 million streaming views globally, topping the latest season premieres of The Bear and Fargo, and the buzz around the show has only grown since. Patrick Brzeski, The Hollywood Reporter, 7 Mar. 2024
Verb
In his shareholder letter, Buffett lavishes praise on Occidental Petroleum, of which Berkshire owns a whopping 27.8%. Sammy Roth, Los Angeles Times, 7 Mar. 2024 At 133 minutes, the doc runs long but never dull, given the generosity of attention lavished on almost the entire Powell and Pressburger filmography. Guy Lodge, Variety, 21 Feb. 2024 Property tax redirect The lack of funds is a direct result of the property tax breaks that Kansas City lavishes on companies and developers that do business there. Christine Wen, The Conversation, 15 Feb. 2024 The military operation began days after Russia hosted the Winter Olympics in Sochi, on which Putin had lavished a record $50 billion to showcase Russia as a sporting superpower. Tribune News Service, Orange County Register, 14 Feb. 2024 Frankly, the last person who should be preaching about wasting taxpayer money is Dixon, who lavished taxpayer money on her sister, her campaign chair and her boyfriend. Reader Commentary, Baltimore Sun, 10 Feb. 2024 Beijing lavished manufacturing subsidies on the Chinese EV sector in a bid to develop a globally-competitive industry. Lionel Lim, Fortune Asia, 25 Jan. 2024 Enlarge Sean Gallup | Getty Images Google was once a company that lavished its employees with perks and didn't do layoffs, but that's not the Google of 2023. Ron Amadeo, Ars Technica, 13 Sep. 2023 While most viewers likely tuned in for the football, there was obviously quite a bit of attention lavished on Taylor Swift’s globe-hopping trip to see boyfriend K.C. tight end Travis Kelce hoist his third Lombardi trophy. Gil Kaufman, Billboard, 13 Feb. 2024

These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'lavish.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.

Word History

Etymology

Adjective

Middle English laves, lavage "extravagant, wasteful," from attributive use of lavas, lavesse "excess, prodigality" (though attested later), probably borrowed from Middle French lavasse, lavache "torrential rain, downpour," from laver "to wash" (going back to Latin lavāre) + -asse, -ache, augmentative and depreciative suffix, going back to Latin -ācea, feminine of -āceus -aceous — more at lye

Note: The word lavasse/lavache is well-attested in northern dialects of French (see Französisches etymologisches Wörterbuch), and in Middle French is found in the work of authors with a definite northern connection (Jean Wauquelin, Jean Molinet—see Dictionnaire du Moyen Français). Presumably it is from this milieu that the word was passed into English in the fifteenth century. Evidence for it in Anglo-French is apparently lacking.

Verb

derivative of lavish entry 1, perhaps by construal of -ish (as in admonish, astonish) as a causative verbal suffix

First Known Use

Adjective

15th century, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Verb

1542, in the meaning defined above

Time Traveler
The first known use of lavish was in the 15th century

Dictionary Entries Near lavish

Cite this Entry

“Lavish.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/lavish. Accessed 29 Mar. 2024.

Kids Definition

lavish

1 of 2 adjective
lav·​ish ˈlav-ish How to pronounce lavish (audio)
1
: spending or giving more than is necessary : extravagant
lavish with praise
2
: spent, produced, or given freely
lavish gifts
lavishly adverb
lavishness noun

lavish

2 of 2 verb
: to spend or give freely
Etymology

Adjective

Middle English lavas "an abundance," probably from early French lavasse, lavache "a downpour of rain," derived from Latin lavare "to wash" — related to laundry, lavatory, lotion

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