bibulous
Americanadjective
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fond of or addicted to drink.
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absorbent; spongy.
adjective
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
Etymology
Origin of bibulous
1665–75; < Latin bibulus ( bib ( ere ) to drink (cognate with Sanskrit píbati (he) drinks) + -ulus -ulous )
Explanation
The adjective bibulous describes something that is highly absorbent, like a towel or sponge that soaks up liquid well. A bibulous person, however, is someone who likes to drink alcohol. Bibulous, pronounced "BIB-you-luhs," comes from the Latin word bibere, which means "to drink." You may recognize this root in the verb imbibe, which often means "to consume alcohol." As it applies to people, bibulous means "likes to drink alcohol." So don't make the mistake of using it to describe someone who seems to soak up information or understand complicated ideas quickly.
Vocabulary lists containing bibulous
Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
A person described as bibulous has a fondness for what?
From Slate • Dec. 25, 2023
Charlotte Rampling straddles dry humor and withering tragedy as a bibulous grandmother in “Juniper.”
From New York Times • Feb. 26, 2023
From that bibulous beginning, Mr. Epstein became a driving force behind the Library of America, which published its first books in 1979.
From Washington Post • Feb. 4, 2022
Colorado - really its farmers and ranchers - are stewards for increasingly bibulous downstream states.
From Washington Times • Sep. 15, 2018
A kind of thick, bibulous, unsized paper, used to absorb superfluous ink from freshly written manuscript, and thus prevent blots.
From Webster's Unabridged Dictionary (2nd 100 Pages) by Webster, Noah
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.
