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
The new breed of cocktail bars were demure, sit-down only affairs, while EO was packed like a nightclub; the new breed of bartender was bookish and slight, more likely to offer the history of gin than the score of a game, while EO bartenders were essentially throwing the party every single night.
—
Jason O'Bryan, Robb Report, 9 Aug. 2025
Sure, director Michael Bay puts former British spy John Patrick Mason (Sean Connery) and bookish FBI agent Stanley Goodspeed (Nicolas Cage) through all manner of car chases, explosions, gun battles, and a relationship with a former prom queen.
—Sarah Sprague, EW.com, 2 July 2025
Solar Power’s acoustic shampoo-commercial pop signified a degree of freedom from the usual rueful, bookish synth-pop grind.
—Craig Jenkins, Vulture, 24 Apr. 2025
Everything Everywhere All at Once is a supernova of emo cartoon invention that plays its comic-bookish multiversal premise for both delirious running gags and unabashedly gushy sentimentality.
—A.a. Dowd, Chron, 4 Feb. 2023
See All Example Sentences for bookish
Jason O'Bryan, Robb Report, 9 Aug. 2025
Sure, director Michael Bay puts former British spy John Patrick Mason (Sean Connery) and bookish FBI agent Stanley Goodspeed (Nicolas Cage) through all manner of car chases, explosions, gun battles, and a relationship with a former prom queen.
—Sarah Sprague, EW.com, 2 July 2025
Solar Power’s acoustic shampoo-commercial pop signified a degree of freedom from the usual rueful, bookish synth-pop grind.
—Craig Jenkins, Vulture, 24 Apr. 2025
Everything Everywhere All at Once is a supernova of emo cartoon invention that plays its comic-bookish multiversal premise for both delirious running gags and unabashedly gushy sentimentality.
—A.a. Dowd, Chron, 4 Feb. 2023
See All Example Sentences for bookish
Recent Examples of Synonyms for bookish
literary
Adjective
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Borrowing from the likes of Luchino Visconti with his eye for exquisite period detail, the great Stanley Kubrick turned to 18th-century literary adaptation in his epic picaresque of a young cad named Barry Lyndon.—
Christina Newland,
Vulture,
5 Sep. 2025
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There are no sections that go entirely unloved by our staff, but some favorites include literary fiction, cookbooks, sci fi and fantasy and all things kids' books.—
American Booksellers Association,
USA Today,
5 Sep. 2025
Cite this Entry
“Bookish.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/bookish. Accessed 11 Sep. 2025.
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