bacchanal
Americannoun
-
a follower of Bacchus.
-
a drunken reveler.
-
an occasion of drunken revelry; orgy; bacchanalia.
- Synonyms:
- carousal, spree, debauch, saturnalia
adjective
noun
-
a follower of Bacchus
-
a drunken and riotous celebration
-
a participant in such a celebration; reveller
adjective
Etymology
Origin of bacchanal
1530–40; < Latin Bacchānāl, equivalent to Bacch ( us ) + -ānāl, probably as back formation from Bacchānālia; see Bacchanalia
Explanation
A bacchanal is a crazed party with drunken revelry, ecstatic sexual experimentation, and wild music. In a nutshell, it is "sex, drugs, and rock-and-roll." Bacchus was the Roman god of wine, which loosened the chains of social restraints; and so, the name of Bacchantes’ hedonistic, pleasure-filled gatherings were named bacchanals. Who might be a modern-day Bacchus? Elvis Presley had bacchanalian charisma. Now, this bit of trivia might impress your friends: the song we know as the Can-Can is titled "Bacchanale," from the opera Orpheus in the Underworld – that’s one hot steaming club jam going on down in Hades!
Vocabulary lists containing bacchanal
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.
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 • Nov. 27, 2025
It’s lofty stuff to swallow given that, for many, Carnival is escapism or rambunctious bacchanal.
From Seattle Times • Feb. 10, 2024
It was refreshing, winking bacchanal — a whole idea.
From New York Times • Jan. 17, 2024
As far back as 1997, he whisked the justice to the all-male bacchanal of elites known as the Bohemian Grove, in the redwoods north of San Francisco.
From Los Angeles Times • Apr. 15, 2023
“I arranged this little bacchanal in your honor,” the scythe said, gesturing to the party around them.
From "Scythe" by Neal Shusterman
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.
