Saturnalian
-
a word derived from
Saturnalia.
Saturnalianounthe festival of Saturn, celebrated in December in ancient Rome as a time of unrestrained merrymaking.
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.
But when they flew into L.A. for their first sold-out gig at the Roxy in early November, there was one local site of Saturnalian bad behavior they just had to visit.
From Los Angeles Times ● Dec. 29, 2021
Sun Ra’s taste for outrageous outfits and Saturnalian mythology was central to his work, yet sometimes overshadowed his musical importance—he was the most revolutionary American big-band leader after Duke Ellington.
From The New Yorker ● Mar. 10, 2015
In the earliest colonial days, funerals were a Saturnalian safety valve.
From Time Magazine Archive
![]()
At the vestibule door a porter, somewhat befuddled by Saturnalian merry-making, was waiting sleepily.
From Roads from Rome by Anne C. E. (Anne Crosby Emery) Allinson
"Ah, I see; you have the Saturnalian spirit in you."
From The Atlantic Monthly, Volume 06, No. 38, December, 1860 by Various