(sometimes used with a plural verb) a festival in honor of Bacchus.
(lowercase) a drunken feast; orgy.
(often capital) orgiastic rites associated with Bacchus
any drunken revelry
1625–35; < Latin equivalent to Bacch ( us ) + -ān ( us ) -an + -ālia, neuter plural of -ālis -al 1; probably modeled on volcānālia. See Saturnalia
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
While fatherhood has slowed my nightlife habits, judging by the gondola banter of a quintet of seasonal employees regaling the night prior’s exploits, the Bacchanalia is back.
From Seattle Times • Jan. 13, 2023
In early November, The Evening Standard, a free daily, asked in a roundup of new restaurants if Bacchanalia was “a toga too far in troubled economic times.”
From New York Times • Dec. 31, 2022
At a time when restaurants are scrabbling for waitstaff, part of a broader labor shortage, Bacchanalia one recent afternoon was crawling with employees.
From New York Times • Dec. 31, 2022
At Bacchanalia, the emphasis is on freshness, and the restaurant uses all organic ingredients, many of which are sourced from the owner's personal farm.
From Time • Aug. 17, 2017
His mother might only have gone to one of her bowling Bacchanalia.
From "A Confederacy of Dunces" by John Kennedy Toole
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
