bookish
Americanadjective
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given or devoted to reading or study.
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more acquainted with books than with real life.
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of or relating to books; literary.
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stilted; pedantic.
- Synonyms:
- scholastic, academic
adjective
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fond of reading; studious
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consisting of or forming opinions or attitudes through reading rather than direct personal experience; academic
a bookish view of life
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of or relating to books
a bookish career in publishing
Other Word Forms
Etymology
Origin of bookish
Explanation
Someone bookish likes books a lot. They're either studious or always seem to be reading. Some people don't like studying. Others like studying a lot: it seems like their head is always in a book. Someone like that can be called bookish, because they are reading books all the time. Being bookish can mean someone is studious: an honors student is likely very bookish. Being bookish can also mean someone just enjoys reading. People in a book club are definitely bookish. This is a word for devoted readers.
Vocabulary lists containing bookish
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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.
Bookish and shy, she never had any interest in the military, and knew nothing of weapons or wars.
From New York Times • Feb. 18, 2023
Bookish and shy, Benedict withdrew to a life of study and prayer “hidden from the world” after announcing in February 2013 that he would step down from the throne of St. Peter.
From Los Angeles Times • Dec. 31, 2022
Bookish Belle is widely perceived to be the ’90s Disney renaissance’s most forward-thinking role model.
From Slate • Apr. 2, 2018
A twenty-nine-year-old H.R. director who writes a blog subtitled “Bossy & Bookish in the South Bronx,” Santos has always wanted to be an entrepreneur.
From The New Yorker • Oct. 28, 2016
Bookish professors and conventional students rarely have just such an animate problem of French artistry and Bohemian experience to solve.
From The Re-Creation of Brian Kent by Wright, Harold Bell
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.
