Babylonian

American  

[bab-uh-loh-nee-uhn, -lohn-yuhn] / ˌbæb əˈloʊ ni ən, -ˈloʊn yən /

adjective

1. of or relating to Babylon or Babylonia.

2. extremely luxurious.

3. wicked; sinful.

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noun

1. an inhabitant of ancient Babylonia.

2. the dialect of Akkadian spoken in Babylonia.

Babylonian British  

/ ˌbæbɪˈləʊnɪən /

noun

1. an inhabitant of ancient Babylon or Babylonia

2. the extinct language of Babylonia, belonging to the E Semitic subfamily of the Afro-Asiatic family: a dialect of Akkadian

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adjective

1. of, relating to, or characteristic of ancient Babylon or Babylonia, its people, or their language

2. decadent or depraved

Other Word Forms

• post-Babylonian adjective
• pre-Babylonian adjective
• pseudo-Babylonian adjective

Etymology

Origin of Babylonian

First recorded in 1555–65; Babyloni(a) + -an

Example Sentences

Babylonian works were inscribed in cuneiform on clay tablets, many of which have survived only in fragments.

From Science Daily • Nov. 11, 2025

She likely originated in the Babylonian kharimati, singing priestesses of bull-riding goddess Ishtar.

From Salon • Dec. 18, 2023

Located five miles south of downtown Los Angeles in the City of Commerce, the behemoth at 5675 Telegraph Road resembled Babylonian ruins.

From Los Angeles Times • Nov. 14, 2023

We do know the Babylonian name for the planet Mercury “means something like ‘the jumpy one,’” Ossendrijver says.

From National Geographic • Aug. 24, 2023

Reading across from left to right it looked as if my mother was slowly dissolving, from real life into a Babylonian bas-relief shadow.

From "Cat's Eye" by Margaret Atwood