bacchanalia

noun

bac·​cha·​na·​lia ˌba-kə-ˈnāl-yə 

ˌbä-

plural bacchanalia

1

Bacchanalia plural : a Roman festival of Bacchus celebrated with dancing, song, and revelry

2

a

: orgy sense 2

b

: orgy sense 3

bacchanalian

ˌba-kə-ˈnāl-yən 

ˌbä-

adjective or noun

Examples of bacchanalia in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web

The only sober attendees are a father (Sergi López) and his young son (Bruno Núñez) who are hoping to find the boy’s sister, a bohemian swept up in the relentless rhythm of this road-tripping bacchanalia. —Amy Nicholson, Los Angeles Times, 18 May 2025

Berman flashes back through the lavish bacchanalia of Alex’s last months, through the eyes of a podcaster trying to unravel the mystery of his death, to reveal the knotty story behind the apparent suicide. —Calum Marsh, New York Times, 7 Apr. 2025

Berman flashes back through the lavish bacchanalia of Alex’s last months, through the eyes of a podcaster trying to unravel the mystery of his death, to reveal the knotty story behind the apparent suicide. —Calum Marsh, New York Times, 7 Apr. 2025

Punk in the Park is headed back to Denver for a grizzled bacchanalia of punk rock, craft beer and nostalgia, following its single-day debut in 2021. —John Wenzel, The Denver Post, 27 Feb. 2025

Word History

Etymology

Latin, from Bacchus

First Known Use

1591, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Rhymes for bacchanalia

• marginalia
• saturnalia
• terminalia
• azalea
• mammalia
• regalia
• vidalia
• paraphernalia
• thalia