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)
adjective
-
prolific, abundant, or profuse
-
generous; unstinting; liberal
-
extravagant; prodigal; wasteful
lavish expenditure
verb
Related Words
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
- lavisher noun
- lavishly adverb
- lavishment noun
- lavishness noun
- overlavish adjective
- overlavishness noun
- unlavish adjective
- unlavished adjective
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
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.
In the lavish memorial erected by his grieving widow, Queen Victoria, Prince Albert is golden, but few world leaders are permanently gilded, and certainly not before their deaths.
From Los Angeles Times • Apr. 1, 2026
Belarusian state media showed Kim and Lukashenko hugging at a lavish welcome programme on Wednesday involving an artillery salute and goose-stepping soldiers before a large flag-waving crowd at Kim Il Sung Square.
From Barron's • Mar. 25, 2026
A romance fraudster who conned men into spending tens of thousands of pounds to fund her lavish lifestyle has been jailed.
From BBC • Mar. 25, 2026
Aquaventure Waterpark at the high-end Atlantis hotel on Dubai’s Palm, a man-made archipelago, offered complimentary tickets to residents and visitors while other hotels promoted lavish staycation packages with dining and spa options.
From The Wall Street Journal • Mar. 17, 2026
As one of them—a puny man heaped with lavish fur and silk—turned to glare at her, Pinmei could see they were as scarred as the servant.
From "When the Sea Turned to Silver" by Grace Lin
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.
