Definition of SYBARITE

sybarite

Meanings

Plural: sybarites

Noun

  • a person addicted to luxury and pleasures of the senses
  • A person devoted to luxury and pleasure; a hedonist.

Adj

  • Synonym of sybaritic (“of or having the qualities of a sybarite; dedicated to excessive comfort and enjoyment; decadent, hedonistic, self-indulgent”).

Origin / Etymology

The noun is a learned borrowing from Latin Sybarīta + English -ite (suffix forming demonyms). Sybarīta is derived from Ancient Greek Σῠβᾰρῑ́της (Sŭbărī́tēs, “(noun) inhabitant of Sybaris; (adjective) decadent; self-indulgent”), from Σῠ́βᾰρῐς (Sŭ́bărĭs, “Sybaris”) + -ῑ́της (-ī́tēs, suffix forming demonyms)). 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.
The adjective is derived from the noun.

Synonyms

Babylonian, bon viveur, decadent, epicure, epicureal, epicurean, epicureous, epicurish, hedonic, hedonist, hedonistic, high-stepper, intemperate, lapling, lotus-eater, lotus-eating, luxurious, pleasure seeker, pleasurist, self-indulgent, sensualist, sensualistic, sinful, softling, sybarite, sybaritic, sybaritical, voluptuarian, voluptuary

Antonyms

hedonophobe

Scrabble Score: 13

sybarite is a valid Scrabble (US) TWL word
sybarite is a valid Scrabble Word in Merriam-Webster MW Dictionary
sybarite is a valid Scrabble Word in International Collins CSW Dictionary

Words With Friends Score: 13

sybarite is a valid Words With Friends word