adj., rich·er, rich·est.
- Possessing great material wealth: "Now that he was rich he was not thought ignorant any more, but simply eccentric" (Mavis Gallant).
- Having great worth or value: a rich harvest of grain.
- Magnificent; sumptuous: a rich brocade.
- Having an abundant supply: rich in ideas.
- Abounding, especially in natural resources: rich land.
- Meaningful and significant: "a rich sense of the transaction between writer and reader" (William Zinsser).
- Very productive and therefore financially profitable: rich seams of coal.
- Containing a large amount of choice ingredients, such as butter, sugar, or eggs, and therefore unusually heavy or sweet: a rich dessert.
- Having or exuding a strong or pungent aroma: "Texas air is so rich you can nourish off it like it was food" (Edna Ferber).
- Pleasantly full and mellow: a rich tenor voice.
- Warm and strong in color: a rich brown velvet.
- Containing a large proportion of fuel to air: a rich gas mixture.
- Informal. Highly amusing.
Wealthy people considered as a group. Often used with the: "Were there, indeed, a sure appeal to the mercies of the rich, the calamities of the poor might be less intolerable" (Charlotte Smith).
[Middle English riche, from Old French (of Germanic origin) and from Old English rīce, strong, powerful.]
richly rich'ly adv.richness rich'ness n.
SYNONYMS rich, affluent, flush, loaded, moneyed, wealthy. These adjectives mean having an abundant supply of money, property, or possessions of value: a rich executive; an affluent banker; a speculator flush with cash; not merely rich but loaded; moneyed heirs; wealthy corporations.
ANTONYM poor
The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition Copyright © 2007, 2000 by Houghton Mifflin Company. Updated in 2009. Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.
