ultrarich

English

Alternative forms

• ultra-rich, ultra rich

Etymology

ultra- +‎ rich

Adjective

ultrarich (not comparable)

1. Extremely rich; very wealthy
   • 2007 February 22, Christine Haughney, “Lofty Hopes, Suspended”, in New York Times‎^[1]:

     During the housing boom that ended in 2005, money poured into real estate from investors ranging from the ultrarich to middle-class professionals like doctors, teachers and midlevel managers.

2. Extremely rich in flavor; very sweet, fatty, or intensely flavorful.
   • 1992, Linda Burum, A Guide to Ethnic Food in Los Angeles, →ISBN, page 177:

     With its tart, light sauce made from rich silky Guatemalan-style cultured cream, the dish is unabashedly luxurious and more ... Revolcado, a soupy pork-head stew— the waitress was shocked when I ordered it—it is an ultrarich spicy broth, the product of simmering a pork head until the meat falls away.

   • 2002, Robert M. Parker, Pierre-Antoine Rovani, Parker's Wine Buyer's Guide, →ISBN, page 113:

     Sporting 205 grams of residual sugar per liter, this backward, ultrarich wine will require cellaring

   • 2015, Alice Medrich, Pure Dessert, →ISBN, page 224:

     Deal with hardness by putting the container in the refrigerator to soften the ice cream gently before scooping, or carefully microwave for a few seconds on low, just as you would for ultrarich super-premium ice creams from the supermarket.

3. (of color) Extremely bold and vivid.
   • 1993 February, “Films of Choice”, in Popular Photography, volume 100, number 2, page 36:

     "It's got ultrarich color [see pit viper below], tight grain and," he adds, “it's processed in only two hours."

   • 20th century, Harper's Bazaar, page 90:

     Apply one coat of Max Factor Vivid Impact Lip Color in Ms. Right (S798) for ultrarich red lips.

4. Extremely thick, smooth, and creamy with a high fat content.
   • 2000, Mademoiselle - Volume 106, Issues 8-12, page 150:

     To get super shine, go for shampoos that remove product buildup, ultrarich conditioners and stylers with vitamins or silicones,

   • 2001, Honey, page 78:

     Created with ultrarich ingredients like avocado oil, Redken's All Soft Shampoo ($7.95) help fight dry-hair disasters.

   • 2003, Allure - Volume 13, Issues 5-8, page 143:

     The mystique surrounding Creme de la Mer only continues to grow, as celebrities like Madonna, Courteney Cox Arquette, Heather Locklear, and Sharon Stone have sworn by the ultrarich moisturizer.

5. Unusually full of desired resources, abounding.
   • 1947, Oil and Gas Journal, page 154:

     Reserve values of the primary Persian Gulf province vary greatly in different parts of the area; thus the northern two-thirds of the British area in Iran, and. a strip 50 miles wide in eastern Iran are ultrarich, as is the strip in Saudi Arabia, etc., on the west coast of the Persian Gulf from Trucial Oman north.

   • 1991, Bon Appétit - Volume 36, page 106:

     The island's dark, ultrarich soil grows things that make visions of Eden pale.

   • 1994, Geology of Ore Deposits:

     Differences in the environments of the localization of rich and ultrarich rare-metal ores are explained, by Konoplev and others (1992), by the heterogenous nature of the ore-formation process.

6. Composed of extremely costly materials; very luxurious.
   • 2008, Ginny Aiken, A Steal of a Deal, →ISBN:

     Two half-moon sofas, overstuffed and cushy looking, wear ultrarich red wool upholstery and fill the two corners at the far end of the room, .one on either side of the entrance to the dining room beyond.

Noun

ultrarich (uncountable)

1. The wealthiest class of people.
   • 1996, Roger D. Stone, Nicolas De Maria, Fair tide: sailing toward Long Island's future, →ISBN, page 5:

     On the North Shore, the ultrarich who moved out from Manhattan early in the century actually improved environmental conditions by reforesting the bare farmlands they bought for their estates.

   • 2003, Vince Flynn, Executive Power, →ISBN, page 17:

     It looked to be another perfect day in the playland of the ultrarich.

   • 2004, Environmental Change and Security Project Report - Issue 10, page 84:

     The number of U.S. millionaires (excluding home equity) jumped from 2 million in 2002 to 2.27 million in 2003, while the number of “ultrarich" worth over $30 million in the United States and Canada grew to 30,000 in 2003 (Frank, 2004).