Dionysian
Americanadjective
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of, relating to, or honoring Dionysus or Bacchus.
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recklessly uninhibited; unrestrained; undisciplined; frenzied; orgiastic.
adjective
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of or relating to Dionysus
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(sometimes not capital) (in the philosophy of Nietzsche) of or relating to the set of creative qualities that encompasses spontaneity, irrationality, the rejection of discipline, etc
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(often not capital) wild or orgiastic
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of or relating to any of the historical characters named Dionysius
Etymology
Origin of Dionysian
First recorded in 1600–10; Dionys(us) + -ian
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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.
Desai, whose directorial work at the Taper thus far has brought together rave and rebellion, smoothly merges the Dionysian frenzy of the music with the nonviolent revolution that ended Ferdinand Marcos’ protracted dictatorship in 1986.
From Los Angeles Times ● Feb. 20, 2026
“Rock ’N’ Roll,” which he dedicated to Vaclav Havel, explores the rebellious, Dionysian force of popular music, an eternal source of inspiration for him, in a play set partly in Prague during the Communist era.
From Los Angeles Times ● Nov. 30, 2025
While some view calling one's behavior "Dionysian" as an insult, conflating sensuality with lecherousness or debauchery, this holiday season, I mean it to say, "Don't choose famine when you have the opportunity to feast."
From Salon ● Dec. 15, 2022
Perhaps more than most of his peers, he seems to have approached even excesses and transgressions with a certain intellectual detachment, taking an Apollonian perspective on an essentially Dionysian form.
From New York Times ● Sep. 15, 2022
People who don’t climb mountains—the great majority of humankind, that is to say—tend to assume that the sport is a reckless, Dionysian pursuit of ever escalating thrills.
From "Into Thin Air" by Jon Krakauer
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.
