Dictionary

sybaritic en · ADJ

Pronunciation

• (Southern-England) audio
• [-ɾɪk] (General-American)
• /ˌsɪbəˈɹɪtɪk/ (General-American)
• /ˌsɪbəˈɹɪtɪk/ (Received-Pronunciation)

Etymology

Learned borrowing from Latin Sybarīticus (“of or pertaining to Sybaris or its inhabitants”) + English -ic (suffix meaning ‘of or pertaining to’, forming adjectives from nouns). Sybarīticus is derived from Ancient Greek Συβαρῑτικός (Subarītikós), from Σῠβᾰρῑ́της (Sŭbărī́tēs, “(noun) inhabitant of Sybaris; (adjective) decadent; self-indulgent”) (from Σῠ́βᾰρῐς (Sŭ́bărĭs, “Sybaris”) + -ῑ́της (-ī́tēs, suffix forming demonyms)) + -κός (-kós, suffix meaning ‘of or pertaining to’, forming adjectives). The English word is analysable as Sybarite (“inhabitant of Sybaris”) + -ic. Sybaris, a city of Magna Graecia (the coastal parts of Sicily and southern Italy once colonized by Greek settlers), was known for its wealth and the excesses and hedonism of its inhabitants.

Meanings

1. Of or having the qualities of a sybarite (“a person devoted to luxury and pleasure”); dedicated to excessive comfort and enjoyment; decadent, hedonistic, self-indulgent.
   • [S]he, for whom attendant maidens had smoothed the Sybaritic sheet of finest texture, […] 1840, F[rederick] M[arryat], “How to Write a Romance”, in Olla Podrida. […], volume III, London: Longman, Orme, Brown, Green, & Longmans, […], →OCLC, page 252:
   • He [David Hershkovits] loves to sleep late, he loves to entertain, he's an amazing cook. He's such a joyful, celebratory, sybaritic person. 2017 October 16, Alexandra Schwartz, quoting Jennifer Egan, “Jennifer Egan’s Travels Through Time”, in The New Yorker, New York, N.Y.: New Yorker Magazine Inc., →ISSN, →OCLC, archived from the original on 16 Dec 2022:
   • He seeks to work in the arena? […] His is a manly trade; sybaritic Rome, that is becoming effeminate, needs to see muscle at work, recalling more primitive glories. 1985 September 1, Anthony Burgess, chapter 2, in The Kingdom of the Wicked, London: Allison & Busby, published 2009, →ISBN, page 168:
   • His belly is a Ceſterne of receit, / A grand Confounder of demulcing Meate. / A Sabariticke Sea, a depthleſſe Gulfe, / A ſenceleſſe Vulture, a corroding VVolfe. Henry Hutton (September 1842), Edward F[rancis] Rimbault, editor, Follie’s Anatomie: Or Satyres & Satyricall Epigrams […], London: […] [T. Richards] for the Percy Society, →OCLC, page 22
   • Mike took a slow sybaritic sip. "We do use liquor. A few of us—Saul, myself, Sven, some others—like it. I've learned to let it have just a little effect, then hold it, and gain a euphoric growing-closer much like trance without having to withdraw." 1961, Robert A. Heinlein, chapter XXXVI, in Stranger in a Strange Land, New York: Avon, →OCLC, page 392:

Forms

Deriveds

sybaritically

Relateds

sybaritical · sybarite · sybaritism

Synonyms

naughty · epicurean · sinful · Babylonian · sensualistic · hedonic · sybaritic · sybarite · voluptuarian · self-indulgent · sybaritical · epicurish · intemperate · lotus-eating · sybarite · lotus-eating · epicurean · hedonistic · epicureal · luxurious · decadent · sybaritical · voluptuary · epicureous

Translations (10)

it sibaritico (of or having the qualities of a sybarite — see also decadent, hedonistic, self-indulgent) · cy sybaritaidd (of or having the qualities of a sybarite — see also decadent, hedonistic, self-indulgent) · ca sibarític (of or having the qualities of a sybarite — see also decadent, hedonistic, self-indulgent) · es sibarítico (of or having the qualities of a sybarite — see also decadent, hedonistic, self-indulgent) · grc ἁβροδίαιτος (of or having the qualities of a sybarite — see also decadent, hedonistic, self-indulgent) · fr sybaritique (of or having the qualities of a sybarite — see also decadent, hedonistic, self-indulgent) · el αβροδίαιτος (of or having the qualities of a sybarite — see also decadent, hedonistic, self-indulgent) · cy sybaritig (of or having the qualities of a sybarite — see also decadent, hedonistic, self-indulgent) · sv sybaritisk (of or having the qualities of a sybarite — see also decadent, hedonistic, self-indulgent) · de sybaritisch (of or having the qualities of a sybarite — see also decadent, hedonistic, self-indulgent)