voluptuous
/vəˈlʌptjʊəs
/adjective
1(Of a woman) curvaceous and sexually attractive.The backless gown was flattering; she was not a very voluptuous woman, but she was certainly not shapeless either....
- He likes the fleshy folds in a voluptuous woman's body.
- If you are expecting voluptuous women, cascading flesh, and all the excess of full-blown Baroque painting, you will be disappointed.
Synonyms
curvaceous, shapely, opulent, full-figured, well formed, well proportioned, Junoesque, ample, Rubensesque, buxom, full-bosomed, lush, luscious;
seductive, alluring, sultry, sensuous, sexually attractive
informal curvy, busty, sexy, hot, slinky, beddable
archaic well turned, gainly, comely
1.1Relating to or characterized by luxury or sensual pleasure: long curtains in voluptuous crimson velvet...
- We often describe the sensuality of cuisine as luscious, voluptuous, decadently indulgent, luxurious, hedonistic.
- It was one of these dishes that are a tasting menu in and of themselves, giving you the sensory pleasures of a voluptuous feast - only in tiny, manageable portions.
- This ‘boyish’ and youthful ideal reigned during the 1920s, succeeded by a sensual and voluptuous ideal in the 1930s.
Synonyms
hedonistic, sybaritic, epicurean, pleasure-loving, pleasure-seeking, self-indulgent, indulgent;
lotus-eating, decadent, intemperate, immoderate, dissipated, dissolute, abandoned;
sensual, carnal, licentious, lascivious, salacious
Derivatives
voluptuously
/ adverb ...- With what longing, between the bars of my temperament, do I peer at its bright landscape, how voluptuously sniff at its perfumes of hay and raspberries, of honey-suckle and roast duck, of sun-warmed flesh and nectarines and the sea!
- She is still a very adjectival writer, quick to assert rather than demonstrate, and thus reliant on basic verbs to prop up her voluptuously visual descriptions.
- The winner will enjoy the room for the evening, which will be voluptuously decorated by local artists with roses, champagne and chocolates.
voluptuousness
/ noun ...- She had a smile that could light up a street full of people and was extremely lively, had a particular type of voluptuousness - a Rodin sculpture come to life. She reminded me of a libertine heroine. She was just my type.
- She had a 40s voluptuousness that fit the role perfectly.
- His works are known for a certain voluptuousness and ripe sensuality, his figures lacking much of the grace and elegance of earlier bijin prints, but emphasizing in their place worldliness and a less disguised or mediated sexuality.
Origin
Late Middle English: from Old French voluptueux or Latin voluptuosus, from voluptas 'pleasure'.
Voluptuous is from Latin voluptas ‘pleasure’. The word became associated with fullness of form suggesting sensuous pleasure from the early 19th century.