as in luxurious
given to or marked by excessive gratification of one's desires
a reality show about self-indulgent twentysomethings whose sole concerns seem to be getting down and getting drunk
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Recent Examples of self-indulgent
But there’s nothing slack, or lazy, or subjective, or self-indulgent, about the elaborate verse-craft of those bards.
—
Literary Hub, 12 Dec. 2025
Some lauded Coppola for his ambition and refusal to play it safe, but the praise was exceeded by criticism, with the movie being called incoherent and self-indulgent.
—Ashley Hume, FOXNews.com, 29 Oct. 2025
Rescued repeatedly by Anderson’s surehandedness as an entertainer, One Battle After Another is clearly the best picture that could have been made from so self-indulgent a script.
—Graham Hillard, The Washington Examiner, 3 Oct. 2025
Bargatze’s bit is predicated on the fact that most awards show speeches are self-indulgent, rambling tributes to other celebrities, which is fine.
—Fran Hoepfner, Vulture, 15 Sep. 2025
Despite the mixed reception, the money counter was an earnest attempt to keep the show running on schedule, preventing one or two self-indulgent speakers from wrecking the running time.
—Dani Di Placido, Forbes.com, 15 Sep. 2025
What felt different was how formerly personal (and occasionally self-indulgent) matters telescoped into broader concerns.
—Bob Gendron, Chicago Tribune, 20 Aug. 2025
As Black women face workforce trends like layoffs, burnout, and furloughs more acutely, which can impact mental and physical health, this mindset shift, ironically, underscores that soft living within a community context is a sustainable practice, not a self-indulgent one.
—Essence, 15 Aug. 2025
It can be used to crudely express boredom, annoyance or to signal that something is self-indulgent or lacking purpose.
—Sofi Zeman
august 8, Kansas City Star, 8 Aug. 2025
Recent Examples of Synonyms for self-indulgent
Adjective
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Cotton is the gold standard for a luxurious feel—each item in our edit is either pure cotton or a soft blend—and from there, the rest is pretty much down to style preference.—
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Bright red polka dots and a ballet-slipper pink cat-eye base strike the perfect balance between playful and luxurious-looking.—
Adjective
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The two share a vampy, sexy, sensual stylistic code.—
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The result is eveningwear that feels sensual, refined and effortlessly modern.—
Adjective
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At Tender, Whitney clashes with his more hedonistic co-founder Jonah (Kal Penn) and bosses around his assistant Haley (Kiernan Shipka).—
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Tyler, the Creator’s Don’t Tap the Glass, ironically, is the least piercing and the most hedonistic, by design.—
Cite this Entry
“Self-indulgent.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/self-indulgent. Accessed 12 Jan. 2026.
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