View synonyms for bookish

bookish

[ book-ish ]

Phonetic (Standard)IPA

adjective

bookish

/ ˈbʊkɪʃ /

fond of reading; studious
consisting of or forming opinions or attitudes through reading rather than direct personal experience; academic
a bookish view of life
of or relating to books
a bookish career in publishing

Origin of bookish¹

First recorded in 1560–70; book + -ish ¹

Aloof and bookish, Pius XI (Achille Ratti) spent years as a Vatican librarian before becoming a diplomat and cardinal.

Margot, three years older than Anne, was quiet and bookish but still a part of things.

Poet Jackie Kay said of the nominees, “It is a sad day when even the Booker is afraid to be bookish.”

Especially when you look at the other side of the bracket and see bookish James Thurber.

Great new novels on hippie California, a bookish adventure, and the gritty Midwest.

Technical words and bookish terms are not words of national use.

It all came back in cash to the working man; and yet it was my own pals who had rebuked me for being too bookish.

I envy you the acquaintance of a genuine non-bookish man like Captain Speke.

It was only geography that morning, any way: and the practical thing was worth any quantity of bookish theoric.

He seemingly was a bookish young man who would probably enjoy hunting a Greek verb to its lair.

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