bacchanal

[ noun bah-kuh-nahl, bak-uh-nal, bak-uh-nl; adjective bak-uh-nl ]

noun

1. a follower of Bacchus.
2. a drunken reveler.
3. an occasion of drunken revelry; orgy; bacchanalia.

   Synonyms: carousal, spree, debauch, saturnalia

adjective

1. pertaining to Bacchus; bacchanalian.

bacchanal

/ ˈbækənəl /

noun

1. a follower of Bacchus
2. a drunken and riotous celebration
3. a participant in such a celebration; reveller

adjective

1. of or relating to Bacchus

Word History and Origins

Origin of bacchanal¹

1530–40; < Latin Bacchānāl, equivalent to Bacch ( us ) + -ānāl, probably as back formation from Bacchānālia; Bacchanalia

Word History and Origins

Origin of bacchanal¹

C16: from Latin Bacchānālis ; see Bacchus

Example Sentences

As I write this essay, the mainstream news media has already, for the most part, moved on from Trump’s fantasy and threats of a bacchanal of violence.

From Salon

But, in a stroke of political savvy, Harrison leaned into the image, campaigning from town to town in a kind of roving bacchanal.

From Los Angeles Times

In December, cringing apologies were extracted from Russian celebrities who attended an “almost naked” bacchanal deemed unseemly during wartime.

From Los Angeles Times

As others have observed, Trump’s political rallies fulfill that function as a type of church tent revival, traveling roadshow carnival, and fascist family reunion and bacchanal.

From Salon

Fans of ’80s excess will revel in the book’s accounts of the boozy bacchanals and ego-driven feuds that played out behind the scenes of the biggest movies in Hollywood history.

From Seattle Times