Meaning & use
lavish
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Meanings
adjectivecomparable
Giving, spending, or providing much more than is necessary; marked by rich abundance.
Grammar: Gradable; it can come before a noun or after be and seem: a lavish meal, the meal was lavish.
Patterns
- lavish meal
- lavish praise
- lavish spending
- lavish with something
They gave a lavish dinner for twenty guests.
The hotel lobby was lavish but not comfortable.
Critics were lavish with praise after the opening night.
verbtransitive
To give something, such as praise, money, attention, or gifts, in large or extravagant amounts.
Grammar: Takes an object; common frames are lavish something on someone and lavish someone with something.
Patterns
- lavish something on someone
- lavish someone with something
- lavish praise on
- be lavished with
Parents should not lavish gifts on children to replace time.
The coach lavished praise on the youngest player.
She was lavished with attention at the reunion.
Word forms
| comparative | more lavish |
|---|---|
| superlative | most lavish |
| third person singular | lavishes |
| past tense | lavished |
| past participle | lavished |
| -ing form | lavishing |
Common combinations
- lavish praise
- The review lavished praise on the novel's dialogue.
- lavish lifestyle
- A lavish lifestyle can hide serious debt.
- lavish spending
- Voters questioned the council's lavish spending.
- lavish attention on
- Do not lavish attention on one student and ignore the rest.
- lavish party
- The award show ended with a lavish party.
Synonyms and how they differ
- extravagant
- Very close, but it often stresses waste or lack of restraint; lavish can sound admiring.
- generous
- Emphasizes willing giving; lavish suggests the amount is unusually large or showy.
- luxurious
- Describes comfort, quality, and expense; lavish describes abundance or giving.
- sumptuous
- Best for rich food, fabrics, rooms, and comfort; less used for praise or attention.
Opposites
Word family
- lavishly adverb
- In a rich, abundant, or expensive way.
- lavishness noun
- The quality of being unusually rich or abundant.
Commonly confused: lavish or lascivious?
lavish vs lascivious
Lascivious means showing strong sexual desire; lavish concerns abundance or generosity.
Practice
The reviewers lavished praise ___ the debut novel.
Choose one answer.
The verb lavish commonly takes lavish something on someone. Lavish someone with praise is also possible, but praise for the novel would need a different verb such as have.
Make it your own
Write a sentence using “lavish”, then check it and compare it with the examples above.