birling

present participle of birl, chiefly Scottish
as in drinking
to take part in drunken revelry spent a good part of his time in Edinburgh birling into the wee small hours of the night

Synonyms & Similar Words

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Example Sentences

Recent Examples of Synonyms for birling
Verb
  • Imagine that person drinking beer in a Whole Foods and discussing random books.
    — Literary Hub, Literary Hub, 5 Nov. 2026
  • Four of the mummified corpses also tested positive for alcohol, which likely came from drinking chicha, a beer made out of maize.
    — Adam Kovac, Scientific American, 3 Nov. 2026
Verb
  • There are certainly fans and pundits who feel that anything short of a title shouldn’t be celebrated in sports, and some who think carousing over anything less is especially beneath the Yankees, who have won 27 World Series but zero since 2009.
    — Gary Phillips, New York Daily News, 15 Sep. 2026
  • Three sitting rooms are complemented by a further three members’ social spaces for carousing in, concealed behind a subtle screen (here, DJs including Goldierocks make appearances, and mobile snaps are banned; staff politely place a sticker over mobile camera lenses).
    — Condé Nast, Condé Nast Traveler, 18 May 2026
Verb
  • The video sweeps around a reveling fiefdom, showing everyone from peasants to dukes partying and getting it on.
    — Jason P. Frank, Vulture, 18 Sep. 2026
  • Right in the middle of cheering, reveling masses was MARTA — a connective system of veins that efficiently moved the happy throngs.
    — Doug Turnbull, AJC.com, 2 Aug. 2026
Verb
  • Also among the Golden Dawn initiates was infamous occultist Aleister Crowley, who the documentary said was a destructive force in the group, binging on drugs while being accused of summoning demons using Golden Dawn rituals.
    — Adam Harrington, CBS News, 27 Oct. 2026
  • The fantasy of perfectly solitary convenience—DoorDashing a meal for one and binging Netflix alone on the couch—has been a reliable bet in Silicon Valley.
    — Molly Fischer, New Yorker, 12 Oct. 2026
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.

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Cite this Entry

“Birling.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/birling. Accessed 8 Nov. 2026.

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