bilious

[bil-yuh s] /ˈbɪl yəs/
adjective
1.
Physiology, Pathology. pertaining to bile or to an excess secretion of bile.
2.
Pathology. suffering from, caused by, or attended by trouble with the bile or liver.
3.
peevish; irritable; cranky.
4.
extremely unpleasant or distasteful:
a long scarf of bright, bilious green.
Origin
1535-45; < Latin bīliōsus. See bile, -ous
Related forms
biliously, adverb
biliousness, noun
nonbilious, adjective
nonbiliously, adverb
nonbiliousness, noun
unbilious, adjective
unbiliously, adverb
unbiliousness, noun
Synonyms
3. grumpy, crabby, cross, grouchy, dyspeptic.
Examples from the web for bilious
  • Strange faces everywhere and a bustling, disputatious tone about it, bilious folk.
  • The essay continued in the same rather bilious vein for.
  • But bilious outbursts and business success often go hand in hand.
  • The money was for their bilious nephew and his crack habit, their own blood who was smoking up their lives.
  • Testy and bilious jibes are especially invited for the holiday season.
  • Point out where any of them back up the things you attest in your bilious rant.
  • After the fifth or sixth awards dinner, readers may feel a little bilious.
  • From the reports of those who know him well, he is rarely so bilious.
  • It can't make eyes blue, livers bilious or brains bulging.
  • Layers of bilious color and gritty texture enhance the feeling of thick, suffocating fumes.
British Dictionary definitions for bilious

bilious

/ˈbɪlɪəs/
adjective
1.
of or relating to bile
2.
affected with or denoting any disorder related to excess secretion of bile
3.
(informal) (esp of colours) extremely distasteful; nauseating: a bilious green
4.
(informal) bad-tempered; irritable
Derived Forms
biliousness, noun
Word Origin
C16: from Latin bīliōsus full of bile1
Word Origin and History for bilious
adj.

1540s, "pertaining to bile, biliary," from French bilieux, from Latin biliosus "pertaining to bile," from bilis (see bile). Meaning "wrathful, peevish, ill-tempered" (as people afflicted with an excess of bile were believed to be) is attested from 1560s. This is the main modern sense in English and French; the more literal meaning being taken up by biliary. Related: Biliousness.

bilious in Medicine

bilious bil·ious (bĭl'yəs)
adj.

  1. Of, relating to, or containing bile; biliary.

  2. Characterized by an excess secretion of bile.

  3. Relating to, characterized by, or experiencing gastric distress caused by a disorder of the liver or gallbladder.

bil'ious·ness n.