Word Confusion: Luxuriant versus Luxurious

Posted July 7, 2022 by Kathy Davie in Author Resources, Self-Editing, Word Confusions, Writing

Revised as of
14 Jan 2023

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The rich word confusion of luxuriant vs luxurious sometimes baffle writers.

Luxuriant is all about lush, profuse, prolific growth whether of a forest, a garden, literature, hair, crops, etc. Think of all those shampoo commercials touting shiny, smooth, thick hair.

Luxurious is more commonly used and means supplied with luxuries, extremely comfortable.

You may want to explore “Lux versus Luxe” as well.

Word Confusions . . .

. . . started as my way of dealing with a professional frustration with properly spelled words that were out of context in manuscripts I was editing as well as books I was reviewing. It evolved into a sharing of information with y’all. I’m hoping you’ll share with us words that have been a bête noire for you from either end.

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Luxuriant	Luxurious
Luxuriant Long Hair by Nika Akin is in the public domain, via PxHere.	A Luxurious Porch is in the public domain, via PxHere.
Part of Grammar:
Adjective	Adjective
[Of vegetation] Rich, abundant, and profuse in growth Lush [Of hair] Thick and healthy Producing abundantly, as soil Fertile Fruitful Productive Florid, as imagery or ornamentation Lacking in restraint	Extremely comfortable, elegant, or enjoyable, especially in a way that involves great expense Giving self-indulgent or sensuous pleasure Characterized by luxury Ministering or conducive to luxury Given to or loving luxury Wanting or requiring what is choice, expensive, or the like Given to pleasure, especially of the senses Voluptuous Present or occurring in great abundance, rich profusion, etc. Opulent Excessively ornate Overelaborate
Examples:
Everywhere you looked, there were forests of dark, luxuriant foliage. He does write luxuriant prose. Its tropical gardens are full of rare, luxuriant vegetation and exotic fragrance. She tossed her luxuriant dark hair. Dotted with green islets and set in a spectacular lunar landscape, Lake Myvatn is notable for its luxuriant vegetation and for providing a home for 45 nesting bird species. Christmas trees are essentially a foliage crop, and luxuriant foliage with good color is a definite asset when trees are sold. 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.	Each of the bedrooms have luxurious marble bathrooms. Many of the leadership led relatively luxurious lives. I’d settle for a luxurious wallow in a scented bath. It was quite the luxurious hotel. She was a person with luxurious tastes. The grapes this year promise a luxurious harvest. It was music of a luxurious beauty. Luxurious prose is better suited to historical, Regency, romance, literary fiction, and others. Facebook considers the luxurious Venus of Willendorf pornographic.
Derivatives:
Adjective: overluxuriant, unluxuriant Adverb: luxuriantly, overluxuriantly Noun: luxuriance	Adverb: luxuriously Noun: luxuriousness
History of the Word:
Mid-16th century, from the Latin luxuriant- meaning growing rankly, from the verb luxuriare, from luxuria meaning luxury, rankness.	Middle English in the sense lascivious, from the Old French luxurios, from the Latin luxuriosus, from luxuria meaning luxury.

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C’mon, get it out of your system, bitch, whine, moan . . . which words are your pet peeves? Also, please note that I try to be as accurate as I can, but mistakes happen or I miss something. Email me if you find errors, so I can fix them . . . and we’ll all benefit!

Satisfy your curiosity about other Word Confusions on its homepage or more generally explore the index of self-editing posts. You may also want to explore Book Layout & Formatting Ideas, Formatting Tips, Grammar Explanations, Linguistics, Publishing Tips, the Properly Punctuated, Writing Ideas and Resources, and Working Your Website.

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