Dionysiac

American  

[dahy-uh-nis-ee-ak, -nahy-see-] / ˌdaɪ əˈnɪs iˌæk, -ˈnaɪ si- /

adjective

1. of or relating to the Dionysia or to Dionysus; Bacchic.

2. Dionysian.

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Dionysiac British  

/ ˌdaɪəˈnɪzɪˌæk /

adjective

1. of or relating to Dionysus or his worship

2. a less common word for Dionysian

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Other Word Forms

• Dionysiacally adverb

Etymology

Origin of Dionysiac

1820–30; < Latin Dionȳsiacus < Greek Dionȳsiakós, equivalent to Diónȳs ( os ) Dionysus + -i- derivative stem vowel + -akos -ac

Example Sentences

“Do you remember last fall, in Julian’s class, when we studied what Plato calls telestic madness? Bakcheia? Dionysiac frenzy?”

From Literature

“And that, to me, is the terrible seduction of Dionysiac ritual. Hard for us to imagine. That fire of pure being.”

From Literature

And she knows that when characters like those of “Shipwreck” are faced with what seems inexplicable to them, their so-called enlightened minds may find themselves wandering into primal, mythic realms — where there be dragons and demons and amoral Dionysiac gods.

From New York Times

But for those who love McLean’s music, it’s essential listening; it captures his full, overtone-rich in-concert sound as well as his explosive solos, which, at times, reach a Dionysiac frenzy.

From The New Yorker

A marble head of a deity wearing a Dionysiac fillet, from the first century A.D.

From The New Yorker