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  1. bon vivant love

Definitions

American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition

  1. n. A person with refined taste, especially one who enjoys superb food and drink.

Century Dictionary and Cyclopedia

  1. A generous liver; a jovial companion.

Wiktionary

  1. n. a person who enjoys the good things in life, especially good food and drink; a man about town

GNU Webster's 1913

  1. A good fellow; a jovial companion; a free liver.

WordNet 3.0

  1. n. a person devoted to refined sensuous enjoyment (especially good food and drink)

Etymologies

  1. French bon vivant (literally "one who lives well, good ‘liver’ (living person)"), from bon ("good") + vivant ("person who is living"), agent noun of vivre ("to live"). (Wiktionary)
  2. French : bon, good + vivant, present participle of vivre, to live. (American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition)

Examples

  • “In this connection he spoke of John Fiske and his contributions to literature, telling of the surprise he felt on first meeting Fiske at Harvard, to see the look of the bon vivant in one in whom the intellectual and the spiritual were so prominent.”

    Our Friend John Burroughs

  • “At Fort Adams, Newport, Rhode Island, he had won a great name as a bon vivant and as an obliging host.”

    Simon & Schuster: LEE’S LIEUTENANTS

  • “The only consistently solid element is the Doctor himself: a solid synthesis of David Tennant's best characteristics & his turn-on-a-dime change of attitude, from carefree bon vivant to hard-edged hero.”

    Dopplegangland

  • ““Even in his school-days, Saint-Hilaire was a bon vivant, but a bon vivant of a rather rare type, a person of tremendous distinction  …  ””

    Maigret in Society

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synonyms (2)

Words with the same meaning

  1. high liver
  1. epicure

antonyms (1)

Words with the opposite meaning

  1. ascetic

hypernyms (1)

Words that are more generic or abstract

  1. sensualist

reverse dictionary (3)

Words that contain this word in their definition

  1. Bon
  1. bons vivants
  1. Corinthian

tags (2)

Free-form, user-generated categorization

  1. french
  1. tulip

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‘bon vivant’ has been looked up 2834 times, loved by 7 people, added to 42 lists, commented on 2 times, and is not a valid Scrabble word.