BILIOUS Synonyms: 83 Similar and Opposite Words

bilious

adjective

ˈbil-yəs

Definition of bilious

as in irritable

having or showing a habitually bad temper a bilious old dog who snaps at everyone

Synonyms & Similar Words

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Example Sentences

Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.

Recent Examples of bilious Even though his bloodwork looked normal six months previously, sudden onset or acute renal failure can happen in an old dog for no apparent reason other than age and result in bilious vomiting. — Dr. John De Jong, Boston Herald, 8 June 2025 Under Nézet-Séguin, the musicians do the job spectacularly, releasing all those bilious harmonies and seething rhythms in an unbroken two-hour spasm of excitement. — Justin Davidson, Vulture, 30 Apr. 2025 And Emily’s side of the family isn't much better, represented by her mean, bilious aunt (Allison Janney, herself no slouch in the hissing-authority department) and her boozy mother (Elizabeth Perkins, replacing Jean Smart from the first film). — Tom Gliatto, People.com, 30 Apr. 2025 The death chamber is nine feet by twelve feet, painted a bilious turquoise. — Lawrence Wright, The New Yorker, 10 Feb. 2025 See All Example Sentences for bilious

Recent Examples of Synonyms for bilious

Adjective

Coach There’s no better feeling than walking into your last show of the day, irritable and hungry, only to discover that snacks are being served.

— Anna Grace Lee, Vogue, 17 Sep. 2026
If a relative or housemate seems irritable, ask what’s going on instead of working around the mood.

— Tarot.com, Chicago Tribune, 11 Sep. 2026

Definition of irritable

Adjective

Seemingly intentionally, the film leaves some details unresolved — where’s Jo’s absentee father, and exactly what made Manang so bitterly angry?

— Todd Gilchrist, Variety, 24 Sep. 2026
Often clad in leather or a simple singlet, revealing his arms-length collection of tattoos, Angry Anderson always looked hard as nails and as angry as his nickname.

— Lars Brandle, Billboard, 23 Sep. 2026

Definition of angry

Adjective

Still, the internet nurtures these Hobbesian, splenetic views.

— Annie Lowrey, The Atlantic, 24 May 2026
Meanwhile, the commentator and controversialist Piers Morgan, an obsessively close observer and relentless critic of Meghan, inevitably waded in with his usual splenetic views.

— Sarah Lyall, New York Times, 17 Sep. 2022

Definition of splenetic

Adjective

Mistaking being disagreeable with the act of disagreeing is common - especially in unsafe psychological workplaces.

— Kate Wieczorek, Forbes.com, 22 July 2026
There are also a lot of people who have never dreamed of being disagreeable in public, much less considered joining a raucous social movement.

— Ashley Belanger, ArsTechnica, 12 June 2026

Definition of disagreeable

Adjective

Encore revisits that album’s musical ingredients and amorous but intermittently cantankerous spirit.

— Craig Jenkins, Vulture, 25 Sep. 2026
Beneath the song's upbeat melody and the movie's cantankerous humor, both deliver a powerful message that women deserve equal pay and treatment in the workplace.

— Kamaron McNair, CNBC, 26 Aug. 2026

Definition of cantankerous

Adjective

The idea that these two would have a five-minute-or-less breakup conversation, then plop down on the couch and happily embark on an acid trip together, strains credulity a little, even for this bizarre, codependent friend group.

— Ben Rosenstock, Vulture, 28 Aug. 2026
In a sequencer that resembled a large fridge, millions of short nucleic-acid fragments would be identified in the span of ten hours.

— Jason Liebowitz, New Yorker, 25 Aug. 2026

Definition of acid

Adjective

But however janky, the system just about works for the ornery menfolk muddling their way through it, with their many beefs mostly resolved with a bottle of lethally alcoholic local tipple chacha, or a punch to the face, or both.

— Jessica Kiang, Variety, 16 Sep. 2026
The new movie follows a benevolent ex-pilot named Hig (Jacob Elordi) who, after losing his wife during a catastrophic global pandemic, lives out in the wilderness with his dog, Jasper, and ornery isolationist pal Bangley (Josh Brolin).

— Patrick Ryan, USA Today, 27 Aug. 2026

Definition of ornery

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“Bilious.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/bilious. Accessed 29 Sep. 2026.

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Synonyms of bilious

adjective

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