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
Hunger of Memory
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I Survived the Nazi Invasion, 1944
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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, 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
He wants to avoid the fate of Bookish, that much-hyped, soon-fizzled Web site originally backed by several major publishers.
From Washington Post • Mar. 17, 2015
Bookish men, taken from speculative pursuits and set to work on something they know nothing about, have generally been found or thought to do it ill; therefore philosophers are unfit for business, etc., etc.
From A System Of Logic, Ratiocinative And Inductive by Mill, John Stuart
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.
