Xanadu

Meanings

1. 1proper nounproperfigurative

   A place of great beauty and luxury, imagined as a perfect and almost unreal paradise.

   Grammar: Capitalized, usually singular, and often used figuratively: a Xanadu of comfort.

   Patterns

   • a Xanadu of something
   • a kind of Xanadu

   For the tired travelers, the lakeside lodge was a Xanadu after weeks on the road.

   He described his dream home as a Xanadu with a library, a pool and endless sunshine.

   No office is a Xanadu, but ours has a good coffee machine.

2. 2proper nounproper

   The summer capital of Kublai Khan in Mongol-ruled China, famous in the West through a poem by Coleridge.

   Grammar: A historical place name, always capitalized and used without an article.

   Patterns

   • the palace at Xanadu

   Marco Polo's tales helped spread the legend of Xanadu across Europe.

   Historians still study the ruins at Xanadu in Inner Mongolia.

   In the poem, Xanadu is the site of a stately pleasure-dome.

Common combinations

a Xanadu of luxury

The resort promised a Xanadu of luxury beside the sea.

dream of Xanadu

She used to dream of Xanadu while stuck on the morning train.

build a Xanadu

The tycoon tried to build a Xanadu on the hillside.

a suburban Xanadu

Their cul-de-sac was hardly a suburban Xanadu.

Synonyms and how they differ

paradise

Paradise is the everyday word for a perfect place, whereas Xanadu carries a literary flavor of exotic splendor.

utopia

Utopia describes an ideal society or system, while Xanadu focuses on a beautiful and luxurious place.

Shangri-La

Shangri-La suggests a hidden, peaceful refuge, while Xanadu suggests lavishness and grandeur.

Eden

Eden points to innocence and a lost natural garden, while Xanadu points to human-made magnificence.

Opposites

Commonly confused: Xanadu or Shangdu?

Practice

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