luxuriant
/lʌɡˈʒʊərɪənt
/ /lʌɡˈzjʊərɪənt/ /lʌkˈsjʊərɪənt/adjective
1(Of vegetation) rich and profuse in growth; lush: forests of dark, luxuriant foliage...
- After descending from Almora the road winds its way mostly along the valley and we had the constant companionship of lush green paddy fields, luxuriant vegetation all around and an occasional rivulet.
- Its tropical gardens are full of rare, luxuriant vegetation and exotic fragrance.
- Such little strips of open land would seem very mean in other latitudes, but at the equator, where there is vertical sun and luxuriant vegetation, they can work and be pleasant to look into, if not be in.
Synonyms
lush, rich, abundant, superabundant, profuse, exuberant, prolific, teeming, flourishing, fecund, thriving, vigorous, riotous;
dense, thick, rank, rampant, overgrown;
verdant, green
informal jungly
1.1(Of hair) thick and healthy: she tossed her luxuriant dark hair...
- The lady on the left had long, dark luxuriant hair, full lips and eyes like black olives; on her head perched a jewelled coronet.
- Erica, in a dark blue silk dressing-gown and fluffy slippers, her luxuriant hair being disheveled, flew into the room like a hurricane.
- Hair is full, luxuriant and bursting with healthy vitality.
Derivatives
luxuriance
/ noun ...- In spite of its smoky luxuriance and organic contours, the album's architecture is a snakes-and-ladders affair of telescoping hallways, spiral staircases and dim-lit chambers of unclear dimensions.
- Their bizarre distance from reality, their twisted imputations of malignity, their excess, their luxuriance in defamation and falsehood, are obviously symptomatic.
- Much to our astonishment, the Palm Cove was lovely, a purpose-built village inserted with care into a stretch of tropical luxuriance beside a curving bay.
luxuriantly
/ adverb ...- The creek is completely green, overwhelmingly green, riotously & luxuriantly green; all this rain has one salutary benefit.
- The kafta sandwich is a mixture of ground beef patties, peas and onions, which are luxuriantly sprawled over the bread like drunk nobility on a dirty ballroom floor.
- The steamy air ensures that they grow luxuriantly.
Origin
Mid 16th century: from Latin luxuriant- 'growing rankly', from the verb luxuriare, from luxuria 'luxury, rankness'.