bacchanal

[bah-kuh-nahl, bak-uh-nal, bak-uh-nl, bak-uh-nl]

noun

1. a follower of Bacchus.

2. a drunken reveler.

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

   Synonyms: carousal, spree, debauch, saturnalia

adjective

1. pertaining to Bacchus; bacchanalian.

bacchanal

/ ˈbækənəl /

noun

1. a follower of Bacchus

2. a drunken and riotous celebration

3. a participant in such a celebration; reveller

adjective

1. of or relating to Bacchus

Word History and Origins

Origin of bacchanal¹

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

Word History and Origins

Origin of bacchanal¹

C16: from Latin Bacchānālis ; see _Bacchus

Example Sentences

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

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Another time he advised a prop guy to think of a bacchanal while setting Kate’s breakfast table.

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Their rollicking redo, set from dusk to hangover at a drunken bacchanal, is vibrant and viciously alive.

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There were stories of wild bacchanals involving nudists, and grand parties attended by the likes of artist Andy Warhol, jazz musician Charlie Parker and Nobel laureate physicist Richard Feynman.

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As I write this essay, the mainstream news media has already, for the most part, moved on from Trump’s fantasy and threats of a bacchanal of violence.

Read more on Salon