orgy

[ awr-jee ]

noun

, plural or·gies.

1. wild or drunken festivity or revelry, especially involving sex with multiple participants.
2. any actions or proceedings marked by unbridled indulgence of passions:

   an orgy of killing.

3. orgies, (in ancient Greece) esoteric religious rituals, especially in the worship of Demeter or Dionysus, characterized in later times by wild dancing, singing, and drinking.
4. Informal. a boisterous, rowdy party.

orgy

/ ˈɔːdʒɪ /

noun

1. a wild gathering marked by promiscuous sexual activity, excessive drinking, etc
2. an act of immoderate or frenzied indulgence
3. often plural secret religious rites of Dionysus, Bacchus, etc, marked by drinking, dancing, and songs

Derived Forms

• ˌorgiˈastic, adjective

Word History and Origins

Origin of orgy¹

First recorded in 1580–90; from Middle French orgie, from Latin orgia (neuter plural) “secret rites,” from Greek órgia, akin to érgon “work”; work

Word History and Origins

Origin of orgy¹

C16: from French orgies, from Latin orgia, from Greek: nocturnal festival

Example Sentences

Cawthorn angered his congressional colleagues with his salacious orgy comment, and the lingerie photos were a particularly damaging surprise for voters, experts say, released less than a month before the primary.

From TIme

Allegations were even thrown around that the house was the site of an orgy or two.

From The Daily Beast

The NRF insists that they’re OK with the mandate in the abstract, but that they would prefer it start in February, after the holiday season and the yearly orgy of shopping it creates.

From The Daily Beast

Indeed, Bannon, whose film Occupy Unmasked claimed to expose an orgy of criminality at the heart of the protest, nevertheless took up positions about the abandonment of the working class that mirrored the movement’s tone.

From Time

Beginning in the 1990s, Democrats and Republicans showered benefits on the financial sector, paving the way for an orgy of subprime lending and financial engineering that inflated housing prices to dizzying heights.

From Washington Post

In honor of A Good Old Fashioned Orgy, in theaters Friday, we offer the best movie group-sex scenes.

From The Daily Beast

The New Orleans Orgy started while a local radio station was broadcasting some of this new dance-music.

From Project Gutenberg

Orgy, or′ji, n. any drunken or riotous rite or revelry, esp.

From Project Gutenberg

The Orgy is famous for the dash and abandon with which it is painted.

From Project Gutenberg

Related Words

• binge
• rampage
• spree