adjective
-
of or relating to bile
-
affected with or denoting any disorder related to excess secretion of bile
-
informal (esp of colours) extremely distasteful; nauseating
a bilious green
-
informal bad-tempered; irritable
Other Word Forms
Etymology
Origin of bilious
First recorded in 1535–45; from Latin bīliōsus; see origin at bile, -ous
Explanation
If an unpleasant meal has left you feeling grumpy and looking green, you're bilious in several senses of the word. This adjective can mean both "troubled by indigestion" and "irritable," and it can also be used to suggest a sickly green shade. The wonderfully descriptive word bilious comes from the root bile, which is a foul green fluid made in the liver and stored in the gall bladder — a fact that helps us picture something described as bilious as being really foul. Because of the connection with bile, we often refer to something that's an ugly shade of green as being bilious. Of course, the word can also be more kindly applied to someone who has a liver or gall bladder disorder.
Vocabulary lists containing bilious
The Vocabulary.com Top 1000
Looking to grow your vocabulary? Check out this interactive, curated word list from our team of English language specialists at Vocabulary.com – one of over 17,000 lists we've built to help learners worldwide!
Fever 1793
Interested in learning more words like this one? Our team at Vocabulary.com has got you covered! You can review flashcards, quiz yourself, practice spelling, and more – and it's all completely free to use!
A Wrinkle in Time
Want to remember this word for good? Start your learning journey today with our library of interactive, themed word lists built by the experts at Vocabulary.com – we'll help you make the most of your study time!
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.
What he actually wrote was “dogs bark it, asses and mules bray it, and bilious bipeds whistle it.”
From Los Angeles Times • Apr. 12, 2024
None of the works, by the way, resemble “Open Casket,” the photograph-based painting of Emmett Till that jettisoned Schutz into bilious controversy in 2017.
From New York Times • Nov. 23, 2023
The high jinks and lowdown deeds that ensue in “The Menu” are sure to remind viewers of “The Triangle of Sadness,” Ruben Ostlund’s similarly bilious takedown of the rich and fatuous.
From Washington Post • Nov. 16, 2022
The plant grew to shrublike proportions and, for more months of the year than not, was adorned with slightly bilious Pepto-pink flowers.
From Seattle Times • Aug. 6, 2022
Rush then noted that in recent days he had seen “an unusual number of bilious fevers, accompanied with symptoms of uncommon malignity.”
From "An American Plague: The True and Terrifying Story of the Yellow Fever Epidemic of 1793" by Jim Murphy
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.
