as in literary
suggestive of the vocabulary used in books
"fealty" is a bookish synonym for "loyalty"
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Recent Examples of bookish
Angela’s bookish young son Jonathan (Danny Pintauro) and her gloriously uninhibited mother Mona (Katherine Helmond) rounded out the household.
—
Jp Mangalindan,
Entertainment Weekly,
10 June 2026
Patel grew up in a small village in the middle of England, performed with The Young Actors Company in Cambridge and turned professional at 17 — spending the next nine years playing the quiet, bookish Tamwar Masood on the British soap EastEnders.
—
Seija Rankin,
HollywoodReporter,
10 June 2026
For the city that produced the author, activist, actor and 19-time All-Star Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, a bookish ectomorph with MVP-level talent is not entirely unheard of.
—
Leah Asmelash,
CNN Money,
9 June 2026
For the uninitiated, author Donna Tartt is the undisputed queen of the ambient mystery with bookish flair.
—
Madeline Hirsch,
InStyle,
3 June 2026
See All Example Sentences for bookish
Jp Mangalindan,
Entertainment Weekly,
10 June 2026
Patel grew up in a small village in the middle of England, performed with The Young Actors Company in Cambridge and turned professional at 17 — spending the next nine years playing the quiet, bookish Tamwar Masood on the British soap EastEnders.
—
Seija Rankin,
HollywoodReporter,
10 June 2026
For the city that produced the author, activist, actor and 19-time All-Star Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, a bookish ectomorph with MVP-level talent is not entirely unheard of.
—
Leah Asmelash,
CNN Money,
9 June 2026
For the uninitiated, author Donna Tartt is the undisputed queen of the ambient mystery with bookish flair.
—
Madeline Hirsch,
InStyle,
3 June 2026
See All Example Sentences for bookish
Recent Examples of Synonyms for bookish
literary
Adjective
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In addition to his literary career, Sarris oversees the multibillion-dollar Graton Resort & Casino, and uses gaming revenue for tribal housing, education and activism, even as the project exposes tensions over wealth, power and belonging in Sonoma County.
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This editor was a devoted watcher, decades ago, when a young who’s who of literary types Skyped in to talk with Bob, from Ezra Klein to Ta-Nehisi Coates and Megan McArdle.
Cite this Entry
“Bookish.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/bookish. Accessed 27 Jun. 2026.
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