Definition of "epicurean" [ep•i•cu•re•an]

• Devoted to the pursuit of sensual pleasure, especially to the enjoyment of good food and comfort. (adjective)
• Suited to the tastes of an epicure: an epicurean repast. (adjective)
• Of or relating to Epicurus or Epicureanism. (adjective)
• A devotee to sensuous and luxurious living; an epicure. (noun)
• A follower of Epicurus. (noun)

American Heritage(R) Dictionary of the English Language, Fifth Edition. Copyright (c) 2011 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.

• "Lord A---- has tasted all the _nouveaux plats à la mode_, for at Paris new dishes are as frequently invented as new bonnets or caps; and the proficiency in the culinary art which he has acquired will render him an oracle at his clubs, until the more recent arrival of some other epicurean from the French capital deposes his brief sovereignty."
• "Certainly that remarkable man was an "epicurean" -- but one, to quote Meredith, "whom Epicurus would have scourged out of his garden"; and the statement made by the critic in question that _The Renaissance_ is the book referred to in _The"
• "With that shadow of the epicurean which is apt to be found upon all civilised hearts, she felt that it did her good to realise how nice he was, just as a fresh flower or a strong wind would have done her good."