bookish

[ book-ish ]
See synonyms for bookish on Thesaurus.com
adjective
  1. given or devoted to reading or study.

  2. more acquainted with books than with real life.

  1. of or relating to books; literary.

  2. stilted; pedantic.

Origin of bookish

1
First recorded in 1560–70; book + -ish1

Other words for bookish

Other words from bookish

  • book·ish·ly, adverb
  • book·ish·ness, noun
  • non·book·ish, adjective
  • non·book·ish·ly, adverb
  • non·book·ish·ness, noun
  • o·ver·book·ish, adjective
  • o·ver·book·ish·ly, adverb
  • o·ver·book·ish·ness, noun
  • un·book·ish, adjective
  • un·book·ish·ly, adverb
  • un·book·ish·ness, noun

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2024

How to use bookish in a sentence

  • It was a sad example of beauty sacrificed on the altar of bookishness.

    The Silver Poppy | Arthur Stringer
  • But that did not trouble me: I knew, I felt that I should be understood and that this very bookishness might be an assistance.

    White Nights and Other Stories | Fyodor Dostoevsky
  • Perhaps it was the stimulus of mountain air, a bracing climate, that got him out of his habitual bookishness.

    The Gilded Man | Clifford Smyth

British Dictionary definitions for bookish

bookish

/ (ˈbʊkɪʃ) /


adjective
  1. fond of reading; studious

  2. consisting of or forming opinions or attitudes through reading rather than direct personal experience; academic: a bookish view of life

  1. of or relating to books: a bookish career in publishing

Derived forms of bookish

  • bookishly, adverb
  • bookishness, noun

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012