Meaning & use
epicure
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Meaning
nouncountableformalold-fashioned
A person who takes great pleasure in fine food and drink and knows a lot about quality.
Grammar: Countable; used mainly in formal or slightly old-fashioned writing. The casual modern word is 'foodie'.
Patterns
- a real epicure
- an epicure of something
As a true epicure, she could tell the difference between fresh and frozen fish at once.
The restaurant attracts epicures from all over the city.
He was an epicure who spent hours choosing the right wine for dinner.
Word forms
| plural | epicures |
|---|
Common combinations
- a true epicure
- A true epicure would never rush a good meal.
- epicure of fine food
- He is an epicure of fine food and rare wines.
- known as an epicure
- She was known as an epicure among her friends.
Synonyms and how they differ
- gourmet
- A gourmet is also a person with refined taste in food and drink, but the word is more common and less old-fashioned than epicure.
- foodie
- Foodie is informal and modern; epicure sounds formal and slightly old-fashioned.
- gourmand
- A gourmand enjoys large amounts of food, sometimes without the same emphasis on refined quality as an epicure.
Word family
- epicurean adjective
- Relating to pleasure in food and drink, or to the philosophy of Epicurus.
Commonly confused: epicure or epicurean?
epicure vs epicurean
Epicurean is the adjective or a follower of Epicurus's philosophy; epicure is the person who loves fine food and drink.
Practice
Which sentence uses 'epicure' correctly?
Choose one answer.
An epicure is a person who enjoys and knows about fine food and drink, so option 1 fits. Option 0 suggests no discernment, option 2 is not a typical use, and 'epicure' is a noun, not a verb.
Make it your own
Write a sentence using “epicure”, then check it and compare it with the examples above.