voluptuary
Syllables: vo·lup·tu·a·ry/vəˈlʌptʃʊəɹi/US/vəˈlʌpt͡ʃʊˌɛɹi/
voluptuary noun: one whose life is devoted to sensual appetites; a pleasure-seeker, a sensualist.
Noun
voluptuary (plural voluptuaries)
- One whose life is devoted to sensual appetites; a pleasure-seeker, a sensualist.
- But Mrs. Cole, in oppoſition to this, aſſured me that the gentlemen I ſhould be preſented to, were, by their rank and taſte of things, infinitely ſuperior to the being touch'd with any glare of dreſs, or ornaments, ſuch as ſilly women rather confound, and overlay, than ſet off their beauty with...1749, [John Cleland], “[Letter the Second]”, in Memoirs of a Woman of Pleasure [Fanny Hill], volume II, London: […] [Thomas Parker] for G. Fenton [i.e., Fenton and Ralph Griffiths] […], →OCLC, page 16
- His features might have been called good, had there not lurked under the pent-house of his eye, that sly epicurean twinkle which indicates the cautious voluptuary.1819 December 20 (indicated as 1820), Walter Scott, chapter II, in Ivanhoe; a Romance. […], volume I, Edinburgh: […] Archibald Constable and Co.; London: Hurst, Robinson, and Co. […], →OCLC, page 21
- Synonyms:
- voluptuarian, bon viveur, epicure, epicurean, hedonist, high-stepper, lapling, lotus-eater, pleasure seeker, pleasurist
Adjective
voluptuary (comparative more voluptuary, superlative most voluptuary)
- Of or relating to the seeking of sensual pleasure.
- For as it hath beene well obſerued, that the Arts which flouriſh in times, while vertue is in growth, are Militarie: and while vertue is in State are Liberall; and while vertue is in declination, are voluptuarie; ſo I doubt, that this age of the world, is ſomewhat vpon the deſcent of the wheele...1605, Francis Bacon, “The Second Booke”, in The Twoo Bookes of Francis Bacon. Of the Proficience and Aduancement of Learning, Diuine and Humane, London: […] [Thomas Purfoot and Thomas Creede] for...
- As to mental Perturbations, which render the Lives of Fools miſerable and calamitous, […] All theſe Perturbations may be comprehended under four general Heads, but admit of many Subdiviſions. Their general Diviſion is into Uneaſineſs, Fear, Luſt, and that voluptuary Elevation of a wanton Spirit...1744, Cicero, “Book the Third”, in William Guthrie, transl., The Morals of Cicero. […], London: […] T. Waller, […], →OCLC, chapter III, page 149
- Synonyms:
- sybaritic, voluptuarian, Babylonian, decadent, epicureal, epicurean, epicureous, epicurish, hedonic, hedonistic
voluptuary meaning in Hindi, Tamil, Marathi and Urdu
voluptuary in Hindi
- voluptuary, sensualist, debauchee, rake
- ऐयाश aiyāś
voluptuary in Tamil
- சிற்றின்பத் தோய்வாளர்
voluptuary in Marathi
- a voluptuary
- चैनबाज cainbāj
voluptuary in Urdu
- نفس پرست
More languagesFewer languages
- voluptuary in Telugu
- విటుడు viṭuḍu
Examples of voluptuary in a sentence
- Clare, who was in heart a poetical voluptuary, smiled as Miss Ophelia made her remark on his premises, […]1851 June – 1852 April, Harriet Beecher Stowe, “Of Tom’s New Master, and Various Other Matters”, in Uncle Tom’s Cabin; or, Life among the...
- Another Greek, the historian Megacleides, singles out Heracles as the supreme voluptuary.1961, Harry E. Wedeck, Dictionary of Aphrodisiacs, New York: The Citadel Press, page 247:
- "I told you so!" he said to himself under his breath, and breathing deeply like a voluptuary he advanced towards his victim.1983, Lawrence Durrell, “The Dying Fall”, in Sebastian: Or Ruling Passions: […], London: Faber and Faber, →ISBN, pages 161–162:
- Dawn Reynolds was an eighteen-year-old alabaster beauty with cobalt eyes and the figure of a ripe voluptuary.2004, Martin Torgoff, “Everybody Must Get Stoned”, in Can’t Find My Way Home: America in the Great Stoned Age, 1945–2000, New York, N.Y....
Synonyms of voluptuary
- voluptuarian
- bon viveur
- epicure
- epicurean
- hedonist
- high-stepper
- lotus-eater
- pleasure seeker
- pleasurist
- sensualist
19 more synonymsFewer synonyms
Forms of voluptuary
| Noun | |
|---|---|
| plural | voluptuaries |
| Adjective | |
| comparative | more voluptuary |
| superlative | most voluptuary |
Origin of voluptuary
From French voluptuaire, or directly from its etymon Late Latin voluptuārius, from Latin voluptārius (“pleasure-seeker; agreeable, delightful, pleasant; sensual”), from voluptās (“delight, pleasure, satisfaction”) + -ārius (suffix forming adjectives from nouns). Voluptās is derived from volup (“with pleasure; agreeably, pleasantly, satisfactorily”) (ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *welh₁- (“to choose; to want”)) + -tās (suffix forming feminine abstract nouns indicating a state of being).
Words formed from voluptuary
Questions about voluptuary
- What does voluptuary mean?
- Voluptuary means one whose life is devoted to sensual appetites; a pleasure-seeker, a sensualist.
- What is voluptuary in Hindi?
- Voluptuary in Hindi is ऐयाश (aiyāś). See Voluptuary meaning in Hindi.
- How do you use voluptuary in a sentence?
- Clare, who was in heart a poetical voluptuary, smiled as Miss Ophelia made her remark on his premises, […]
- What part of speech is voluptuary?
- Voluptuary can be a noun or an adjective.
- How do you pronounce voluptuary?
- Voluptuary is pronounced /vəˈlʌptʃʊəɹi/ (UK).
- What is the plural of voluptuary?
- The plural of voluptuary is voluptuaries.
Words near voluptuary in the dictionary
Source and license
Adapted from Wiktionary: voluptuary (page history and authors); ऐयाश (Hindi) (page history and authors); voluptuary (Tamil Wiktionary) (page history and authors); चैनबाज (Marathi) (page history and authors); voluptuary (Urdu Wiktionary) (page history and authors). Text available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 license. Word.ws reformatted the entry and added links. Wiktionary data of 2026-09-02.
Last updated:
Pronunciation audio from Wikimedia Commons, each file under its own free license: LL-Q1860 (eng)-Vealhurl-voluptuary.wav.
Cite this entry: “voluptuary.” Word.ws, https://word.ws/voluptuary. Based on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.