'Luxurism'?

[Mehrgan]

Hi all,

Are there any such terms as 'luxurism' and 'luxurist', with the first one referring to a situation in which people are all into a luxurious life? How about 'a luxury-conscious society' or 'a luxury-orientated society'?



Thanks in advance!

 

[InPerfectEnglish]

Interesting question! The first thing that comes to my mind would be the expression "consumer society" or "consumer culture" (i.e., most Western societies) or "materialism" or to be "materialistic" (i.e. obsessed with or motivated by material things).

Many critics of Western culture say that modern culture is a "culture of instant gratification." While this expression may not be commonplace in every day language, it would be easily understood.

Best,
In Perfect English

 

[mayita1usa]

These are not very common words nowadays, so I looked them up and was quite surprised to find that they have been around since the 1800s!

Here's a definition from Webster's Online Dictionary:

Luxurist \Lux"u*rist\, noun. One given to luxury. [Obsolete]. (references)
​

Google shows only about 36,000 references to the word luxurism, many of them regarding a company in California, which also shows that not many people are using it.

But I can see no reason not to bring these words back - they clearly have much modern relevance!

 

[konungursvia]

Hi all,

Are there any such terms as 'luxurism' and 'luxurist', with the first one referring to a situation in which people are all into a luxurious life? How about 'a luxury-conscious society' or 'a luxury-orientated society'?
Thanks in advance!

Yes, the term appears to have been coined by a French author, Charles Fourier, and is at times used in English, though it is rare.

 

[BobK]

I guess the most common synonym would be 'affluent'. (Usage note: Avoid the typo 'effluent. ;-))

Incidentally, though luxurism and luxurist are rare, the verb 'luxuriate' is quite common. But you don't just luxuriate if you're living a 'life of luxury'; it's normal to give specifics - 'luxuriating in the silk sheets/warm shower/...'.

b

 

[konungursvia]

I would associate it with people who are materialistic, rather than affluent. To my ears, over here, the word affluent simply means that lots of stuff flows toward a person, without the person necessarily hoarding or worshiping it. Luxurism may have a connotation of gourmandise and egocentrism that affluent doesn't -- to me.