as in irritable
having or showing a habitually bad temper
a bilious old dog who snaps at everyone
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Example Sentences
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Recent Examples of bilious
The Wolf of Wall Street (2013) Rampant exposure to this movie on cable suggests that Scorsese’s bilious portrait of Jordan Belfort may soon join GoodFellas as one of the director’s most intensely rewatchable efforts.
—
Will Leitch, Vulture, 8 Mar. 2024
Her women’s expressions are sardonic, humorous, perplexed, or even slightly bilious, and all of them are versions of herself.
—Dodie Kazanjian, Vogue, 20 Apr. 2024
Color is a bilious miasma, golden tones sliding into flashes of brightness that collapse into queasy hues.
—Christopher Knight, Los Angeles Times, 20 Oct. 2023
The role of the cranky academic could easily be a stock character, but Giamatti invests the role with bilious wit as well as a few fleeting glimpses of vulnerability.
—Stephen Farber, The Hollywood Reporter, 3 Sep. 2019
See All Example Sentences for bilious
Will Leitch, Vulture, 8 Mar. 2024
Her women’s expressions are sardonic, humorous, perplexed, or even slightly bilious, and all of them are versions of herself.
—Dodie Kazanjian, Vogue, 20 Apr. 2024
Color is a bilious miasma, golden tones sliding into flashes of brightness that collapse into queasy hues.
—Christopher Knight, Los Angeles Times, 20 Oct. 2023
The role of the cranky academic could easily be a stock character, but Giamatti invests the role with bilious wit as well as a few fleeting glimpses of vulnerability.
—Stephen Farber, The Hollywood Reporter, 3 Sep. 2019
See All Example Sentences for bilious
Recent Examples of Synonyms for bilious
Adjective
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This misalignment impairs your sleep and concentration, and can leave you feeling irritable.—
Mackenzie Gamble,
The Conversation,
10 Feb. 2025
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Here’s one way to take your mind off a certain election that seems to have everyone tense and irritable these days — consider that Tahoe ski season is almost here.—
Randy McMullen,
The Mercury News,
31 Oct. 2024
Adjective
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Trashing a guy’s car is nothing new among angry exes, but one Florida woman took it to an absurd level after having a little too much to drink, according to Florida investigators.—
Mark Price,
Miami Herald,
27 Feb. 2025
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One of her twisted arms is lopped off by an angry audience member and turns into a firehose of blood.—
Scottie Andrew,
CNN,
27 Feb. 2025
Adjective
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And while there is enough splenetic wit and manic detail to generate obsessive fandom (entire sections of Web sites are dedicated to deciphering just what Kenny is mumbling), subjects like alien abduction, genetic engineering, and Kathie Lee are hardly original targets for satire.—
Chris Norris,
SPIN,
13 Aug. 2022
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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
Adjective
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Basic Skin Care Routine The key to maintaining a healthy skin pH is a basic skin care routine that maintains the acid mantle.—
Mark Gurarie,
Verywell Health,
30 Oct. 2024
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Even perennials have varying soil needs: some prefer more acid or more alkaline soil, or prefer a wet site or a dry one.—
Beth Botts,
Chicago Tribune,
2 Feb. 2025
Adjective
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The United States’s three most powerful European allies disagree with its plan for ending the brutal, destructive stalemate in Ukraine, with Germany the most disagreeable.—
Dominic Green,
Washington Examiner - Political News and Conservative Analysis About Congress, the President, and the Federal Government,
21 Feb. 2025
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Sometimes that means confronting disagreeable people.—
David Plazas,
The Tennessean,
24 Apr. 2024
Adjective
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Of course, even the most cantankerous player can have his suitors when his play is of a certain standard, and Acosta is among the best No. 10s in one of the few leagues that caters to the specialized role.—
Jeff Rueter,
The Athletic,
14 Feb. 2025
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Over the years, site landowners from the same family could be cantankerous (Elmer Lindsey) or friendly and willing to be engaged (Howard and Doris Lindsey).—
Michael Barnes,
Austin American-Statesman,
22 Oct. 2024
Adjective
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The offensive line, in Monken’s estimation, is the most talented and possibly most ornery unit he’s had at West Point, all the way down to wrestling each other to settle arguments about who’s tougher.—
Brian Hamilton,
The Athletic,
21 Nov. 2024
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They’re led by John Dutton III, an ornery character who nevertheless carries the kind of gravitas that only a veteran movie star like Kevin Costner can bring.—
Noel Murray,
Vulture,
18 Nov. 2024
Cite this Entry
“Bilious.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/bilious. Accessed 3 Mar. 2025.
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