voluptuous

English

Etymology

From Middle French voluptueux, from Latin voluptuōsus (“delightful”), from voluptās (“pleasure, delight”), from volup (“with pleasure”).

Pronunciation

• (US) IPA^(key): /vəˈlʌp.t͡ʃu.əs/

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Adjective

voluptuous (comparative more voluptuous, superlative most voluptuous)

1. Characterized or marked by full, generous, pleasurable sensation.

   The plentiful blankets and the voluptuous pillows of the bed called out to my tired body.

   • 1749, [John Cleland], “(Please specify the letter or volume)”, in Memoirs of a Woman of Pleasure [Fanny Hill], London: G. Fenton  , →OCLC:

     Thus we lay, whilst a voluptuous languor possest, and still maintain'd us motionless and fast locked in one another's arms

   • 1838, [Letitia Elizabeth] Landon (indicated as editor), chapter III, in Duty and Inclination: , volume III, London: Henry Colburn, , →OCLC, page 24:

     It was upon riches he founded his claim to importance; riches could alone supply the enjoyments of luxury; those voluptuous pleasures upon which the sensualist refines, and without which life appears but a mere vegetative existence, unproductive of enjoyment.

2. (of a woman) Curvaceous and sexually attractive.

   The low neckline of her bodice emphasised her plump, voluptuous figure.

   • 2018, Nnedi Okorafor, Who Fears Death, HarperVoyager, page 35:

     She was very dark skinned and has a voluptuous figure that she showed off with her stylish purple dress.

Synonyms

• (pleasurable sensation): luxurious
• (curvaceous): See Thesaurus:voluptuous or Thesaurus:sexy

Derived terms

Related terms

Translations

Further reading

• “voluptuous”, in Webster’s Revised Unabridged Dictionary, Springfield, Mass.: G. & C. Merriam, 1913, →OCLC.
• “voluptuous”, in The Century Dictionary , New York, N.Y.: The Century Co., 1911, →OCLC.
• “voluptuous”, in OneLook Dictionary Search.