opulence means wealth. Lexicurio rates it Rare gem — a strength score of 77 out of 100.
opulence is pronounced /ˈɒp.jʊl.əns/.
Why “opulence” is a great word
Great wealth or affluence, often displayed luxuriously or abundantly. From French opulence, from Latin opulentia ("riches, wealth"), from opulentus ("wealthy"). Unlike "affluence," which suggests a comfortable, quiet prosperity, or "frugality," which denotes a deliberate, sparing economy, opulence is wealth made ostentatiously physical. It is the heavy, cold drape of a silk brocade curtain, the cloying sweetness of an over-ripe peach piled high on a silver salver, and the oppressive warmth radiating from too many beeswax candles in a windowless room—a performance of abundance so complete it borders on silence.
Etymology
From French opulence, from Latin opulentia.
noun
- Wealth.
- Abundance, bounty, profusion.
- Ostentatious display of wealth and luxury; plushness.“There in full Opulence a Banker dwelt,
Who all the Joys and Pangs of Riches felt;
His Side-board glitter’d with imagin’d Plate;
And his proud Fancy held a vaſt Eſtate.”
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