bilious \BIL-yuhs\, adjective:
1. Of or pertaining to bile.
2. Marked by an excess secretion of bile.
3. Pertaining to, characterized by, or affected by gastric distress caused by a disorder of the liver.
4. Appearing as if affected by such a disorder.
5. Resembling bile, especially in color.
6. Of a peevish disposition; ill-tempered.
Most arresting of all, his normally gray elephant hide has changed to a bilious shade of green.-- Ellen Handler Spitz, Inside Picture Books
Warm and diplomatic in manner, devoted to his wife and sons, Rich at 52 fits the stereotype of the bilious, bitter critic in only one particular: He didn't have a happy childhood.-- Judith Newmark, "Theater Expert Fears 'The Bottom Will Drop
Out' For Broadway", St. Louis Post-Dispatch, November 25, 2001
The field here on my right belongs to Knemon,
a human lacking in humanity,
bilious toward everyone, detesting crowds.-- Menander, The Grouch (translated by Sheila D'Atri)
I know of friends and colleagues who have received death threats and bilious ventings from angry and sometimes deranged strangers.-- Peter Wood, "You've Got (Hate) Mail", National Review, July 30, 2001
Example Sentence
Molly’s bilious demeanor made her ill-suited for a job in customer service, and she was let go from the position after two weeks.
Did you know?
"Bilious" is one of several words whose origins trace to the old belief that four bodily humors (black bile, yellow bile, phlegm, and blood) control temperament. Just like "phlegmatic" (“of a slow and stolid phlegm-driven character”), “melancholy” (“experiencing dejection associated with black bile”), and the recent Word of the Day "sanguine" (“of a cheerful, blood-based disposition”), "bilious" suggests a personality associated with an excess of one of the humors — in this case, yellow bile. "Bilious," which first appeared in English in the mid-1500s, derives from the Middle French “bilieux,” which in turn traces to “bilis,” Latin for "bile." In the past, "bile" was also called "choler," which gives us "choleric,” a synonym of “bilious.”
0 评论:
发表评论