bacchanal

American  

[bah-kuh-nahl, bak-uh-nal, bak-uh-nl, bak-uh-nl] / ˌbɑ kəˈnɑl, ˌbæk əˈnæl, ˈbæk ə nl, ˈbæk ə nl /

noun

1. a follower of Bacchus.

2. a drunken reveler.

3. an occasion of drunken revelry; orgy; bacchanalia.

   Synonyms:

   carousal, spree, debauch, saturnalia

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adjective

1. pertaining to Bacchus; bacchanalian.

bacchanal British  

/ ˈbækənəl /

noun

1. a follower of Bacchus

2. a drunken and riotous celebration

3. a participant in such a celebration; reveller

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adjective

1. of or relating to Bacchus

Etymology

Origin of bacchanal

1530–40; < Latin Bacchānāl, equivalent to Bacch ( us ) + -ānāl, probably as back formation from Bacchānālia; Bacchanalia

Example Sentences

The office holiday gathering itself has come a long way from the bacchanals I survived early in my career.

From The Wall Street Journal

The best it can do for jokes is endless animal wordplay—a road sign reading “Gnu Jersey,” a bacchanal dubbed “Burning Mammal.”

From The Wall Street Journal

But, in a stroke of political savvy, Harrison leaned into the image, campaigning from town to town in a kind of roving bacchanal.

From Los Angeles Times

It’s lofty stuff to swallow given that, for many, Carnival is escapism or rambunctious bacchanal.

From Seattle Times

It was refreshing, winking bacchanal — a whole idea.

From New York Times