Bacchanalia
noun
a festival in honor of Bacchus.
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Bacchanalia
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bacchanalia
bacchanaliaplural noun(often capital) orgiastic rites associated with Bacchus
Bacchanalia
American
[bak-uh-ney-lee-uh, -neyl-yuh]
/ ˌbæk əˈneɪ li ə, -ˈneɪl jə /
noun
Bacchanalia,
plural
Bacchanalias
plural
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(sometimes used with a plural verb) a festival in honor of Bacchus.
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(lowercase) a drunken feast; orgy.
bacchanalia
British
/ ˌbækəˈneɪlɪə /
plural noun
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(often capital) orgiastic rites associated with Bacchus
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any drunken revelry
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
Inflected Forms
Nouns
Etymology
Origin of Bacchanalia
1625–35; < Latin equivalent to Bacch ( us ) + -ān ( us ) -an + -ālia, neuter plural of -ālis -al 1; probably modeled on volcānālia. See Saturnalia
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.
See Examples For:
While fatherhood has slowed my nightlife habits, judging by the gondola banter of a quintet of seasonal employees regaling the night prior’s exploits, the Bacchanalia is back.
From Seattle Times ● Jan. 13, 2023
The party a few hours later at Bacchanalia seemed to occur in an alternative universe.
From New York Times ● Dec. 31, 2022
Anne Quatrano, the chef who began Atlanta’s farm-to-table era at her flagship restaurant Bacchanalia 25 years ago, sells fresh Gulf shrimp and oysters at W.H.
From New York Times ● Jan. 29, 2019
At Bacchanalia, the emphasis is on freshness, and the restaurant uses all organic ingredients, many of which are sourced from the owner's personal farm.
From Time ● Aug. 17, 2017
His mother might only have gone to one of her bowling Bacchanalia.
From "A Confederacy of Dunces" by John Kennedy Toole
An omen among omens: Mid-dog-walk that day, I spot a onesie that reads “Milk Drunk” and shudder at the impulse to recruit our newborns into low-key bacchanalia.
From Slate ● May 10, 2026
A huge banner carpeted the famed Piazza San Marco before his three-day bacchanalia: “If you can rent Venice for your wedding you can pay more tax.”
From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 2, 2025
A lot of my favorite moments at The Verge happened at CES, the bacchanalia of consumer tech and consumerism that used to matter much more than it does now.
From The Verge ● Mar. 4, 2022
The biggest step the city has taken was to allow rallygoers to drink on public property, reasoning it will spread the bacchanalia into the open air.
From Seattle Times ● Aug. 4, 2021
The morning after the bacchanalia in the saloon of the palace, the divan was covered with young patricians.
From Ben-Hur; a tale of the Christ by Wallace, Lewis
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.
