bibulous

American  

[bib-yuh-luhs] / ˈbɪb yə ləs /

adjective

1. fond of or addicted to drink.

2. absorbent; spongy.

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bibulous British  

/ ˈbɪbjʊləs /

adjective

1. addicted to alcohol

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Other Word Forms

• bibulosity noun
• bibulously adverb
• bibulousness noun
• nonbibulous adjective
• nonbibulously adverb
• nonbibulousness noun
• unbibulous adjective
• unbibulously adverb
• unbibulousness noun

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.

Example Sentences

A person described as bibulous has a fondness for what?

From Slate • Dec. 25, 2023

Mr. Humphries created a string of other characters over the years, notably the boorish, bibulous Australian cultural attaché Sir Les Patterson.

From New York Times • Apr. 22, 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

He was born in 1972, and was brought up in a housing project in South London, the youngest of four boys, with a strict English mother and a bibulous Irish Catholic father.

From The New Yorker • May 20, 2019

Now, whenever I see a bibulous man, it brings to my mind visions of that one experience and how I was compelled to hold on for dear life to keep from falling into space.

From Confessions of a Neurasthenic by Marrs, William Taylor