bacchanalian
Britishadjective
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characterized by or involving drunken revelry
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(often capital) of or relating to the orgiastic rites associated with Bacchus
Explanation
The ancient Roman god Bacchus was no teetotaler. A bacchanalian party is a wild, wine-soaked, rowdy affair. Bacchanalian is used to describe any event that Bacchus would have enjoyed. The Romans celebrated Bacchus with wine, songs, dances and more wine — not the kind of behavior you would expect from self-respecting adults (and probably not the kind of thing they would tell their kids about). Another word for bacchanalian is Dionysian, in honor of the Greek god of wine and crazy parties. Any kind of wild revelry can be described as bacchanalian.
Vocabulary lists containing bacchanalian
Mardi Gras: Fun
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The Cuckoo's Calling
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Vocabulary Video Contest (2013) - List 1
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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.
Hot bacchanalian summers that never sleep, and cold brooding winters that draw you underground and inward.
From New York Times ● May 6, 2024
Her new music reflects those bacchanalian nights, where people found freedom to be themselves "free from police, free from judgement", said Monaé.
From BBC ● Jun. 8, 2023
He did this by hosting bacchanalian parties, often in Las Vegas, and bestowing absurdly lavish gifts on his growing stable of celebrity acquaintances.
From Washington Post ● Apr. 3, 2023
Denying those bacchanalian tendencies would be to forget why we live here in the first place.
From Los Angeles Times ● Apr. 14, 2022
It reminds me of Elia’s Captain Jackson’s bacchanalian orgies, where “wine we had none, nor, except on very rare occasions, spirits; but the sensation of wine was there.”
From Here and There in London by J. Ewing (James Ewing) Ritchie
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.
