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 mother—
George Meredith
George Meredith
b
: marked by profusion or excess
a lavish feast
a lavish home
lavishly
adverb
lavishness
noun
Synonyms
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 WebLiza Esquibias, Peoplemag, 16 Apr. 2024
Steeped in fascinating tidbits about her life, Swift recounts how Harkness, who inherited the riches from her oil tycoon husband’s untimely death and even became the richest woman in America at one point, was considered an outcast and a madwoman for her unconventional choices and lavish lifestyle.
—Samantha Cooney, TIME, 16 Apr. 2024
The project may be the most lavish example of how teams, leagues and event organizers are pursuing luxury and exclusivity with zeal.
—Kevin Draper Doug Mills, New York Times, 13 Apr. 2024
Through the gated entrance, the driveway leads to a lavish motorcourt.
—Demetrius Simms, Robb Report, 11 Apr. 2024
Now that most Tull albums have been reissued in lavish box sets that include full concerts, there are plenty of dates to choose from—but this double LP is the one that started it all.
—Ernesto Lechner, SPIN, 11 Apr. 2024
Nearly two hours into a welcome ceremony last month at the lavish home of a Korean diplomat in Hancock Park, the guest of honor — the first Asian American to lead the Los Angeles Police Department — had yet to step on stage.
—Libor Jany, Los Angeles Times, 11 Apr. 2024
President Biden officially welcomed Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida to the White House on Wednesday for a formal state visit, an honor that includes an Oval Office meeting, a press conference, and a lavish state dinner with a performance by Paul Simon.
—Franco Ordoñez, NPR, 10 Apr. 2024
And to add insult to injury all these companies pay executives lavish salaries while demanding struggling residents pony up.
—Letters To The Editor, The Mercury News, 10 Apr. 2024
Anant Gupta, Washington Post, 29 Mar. 2024
Former president Donald Trump hasn't picked a favorite in the race despite the praise lavished on him by many of the candidates.
—Scott Wartman, The Enquirer, 5 Mar. 2024
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
Adjective
Prime Video hosted a lavish Hollywood after-party to celebrate April 9 in celebration of Fallout's series premiere
The TCL Chinese Theater was home to an alternate universe in Hollywood last week.
—Liza Esquibias, Peoplemag, 16 Apr. 2024
Steeped in fascinating tidbits about her life, Swift recounts how Harkness, who inherited the riches from her oil tycoon husband’s untimely death and even became the richest woman in America at one point, was considered an outcast and a madwoman for her unconventional choices and lavish lifestyle.
—Samantha Cooney, TIME, 16 Apr. 2024
The project may be the most lavish example of how teams, leagues and event organizers are pursuing luxury and exclusivity with zeal.
—Kevin Draper Doug Mills, New York Times, 13 Apr. 2024
Through the gated entrance, the driveway leads to a lavish motorcourt.
—Demetrius Simms, Robb Report, 11 Apr. 2024
Now that most Tull albums have been reissued in lavish box sets that include full concerts, there are plenty of dates to choose from—but this double LP is the one that started it all.
—Ernesto Lechner, SPIN, 11 Apr. 2024
Nearly two hours into a welcome ceremony last month at the lavish home of a Korean diplomat in Hancock Park, the guest of honor — the first Asian American to lead the Los Angeles Police Department — had yet to step on stage.
—Libor Jany, Los Angeles Times, 11 Apr. 2024
President Biden officially welcomed Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida to the White House on Wednesday for a formal state visit, an honor that includes an Oval Office meeting, a press conference, and a lavish state dinner with a performance by Paul Simon.
—Franco Ordoñez, NPR, 10 Apr. 2024
And to add insult to injury all these companies pay executives lavish salaries while demanding struggling residents pony up.
—Letters To The Editor, The Mercury News, 10 Apr. 2024
Verb
Underscoring how widespread the financing practice had become, the top purchaser of electoral bonds turned out to be a gambling mogul based in Tamil Nadu state who lavished money not on BJP, but on its smaller rivals.
—Anant Gupta, Washington Post, 29 Mar. 2024
Former president Donald Trump hasn't picked a favorite in the race despite the praise lavished on him by many of the candidates.
—Scott Wartman, The Enquirer, 5 Mar. 2024
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
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.
Dictionary Entries Near lavish
Cite this Entry
“Lavish.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/lavish. Accessed 23 Apr. 2024.
Copy CitationKids Definition
lavish
1 of 2 adjective
lav·ish
ˈlav-ish 
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
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