SYNONYMS | EXAMPLES | WORD ORIGIN adjective Physiology , Pathology pertaining to bile or to an excess secretion of bile . Pathology suffering from, caused by, or attended by trouble with the bile or liver. peevish; irritable; cranky.
extremely unpleasant or distasteful: a long scarf of bright, bilious green.
Origin of bilious From the
Latin word
bīliōsus, dating back to
1535–45. See
bile ,
-ous Related forms bil·ious·ly , adverb bil·ious·ness , noun non·bil·ious , adjective non·bil·ious·ly , adverb non·bil·ious·ness , noun un·bil·ious , adjective un·bil·ious·ly , adverb un·bil·ious·ness , noun Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2019
Related Words for bilious restless ,
sickly ,
groggy ,
anxious ,
squeamish ,
uncomfortable ,
uneasy ,
fidgety ,
ailing ,
lackluster ,
cranky ,
feeble ,
infirm ,
morose ,
wan ,
emaciated ,
pasty ,
muddy ,
jaundiced ,
dull Examples from the Web for bilious Contemporary Examples of bilious When you show people real human beings, most people don't want to be dismissive and bilious .
I'd already drafted a bitter, bilious , bombastic broadside against the right-wing hacks on the Republican Court.
GOP is a mummy-wrapped skeleton sitting in its own chilly mausoleum of bilious resentments and creepy sentimentality.
In fact, the GOP is a mummy-wrapped skeleton sitting in its own chilly mausoleum of bilious resentments and creepy sentimentality.
Historical Examples of bilious What signifies the blare of your brass, or the bilious bleating of your wood-wind!
Their bloodless, pinched, yellow faces were like the faces of bilious invalids.
The doctor was sent for and diagnosed the case "bilious fever."
I've put away so much of that sweet slush now that I'll be bilious for a week.
His face was long, thin and yellow, of a bilious appearance.
British Dictionary definitions for bilious 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
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Derived Forms biliousness , noun Word Origin for bilious C16: from Latin bīliōsus full of bile 1
Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition
© William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins
Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012
Word Origin and History for bilious adj. 1540s, "pertaining to bile, biliary," from French bilieux , from Latin biliosus "pertaining to bile," from bilis (see bile ). Meaning "wrathful, peevish, ill-tempered" (as people afflicted with an excess of bile were believed to be) is attested from 1560s. This is the main modern sense in English and French; the more literal meaning being taken up by biliary . Related: Biliousness .
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Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2010 Douglas Harper
adj. Of, relating to, or containing bile; biliary.
Characterized by an excess secretion of bile.
Relating to, characterized by, or experiencing gastric distress caused by a disorder of the liver or gallbladder.
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The American Heritage® Stedman's Medical Dictionary
Copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Company.
