orgy Definitions

WordNet (r) 3.0 (2005)

n
1: any act of immoderate indulgence; "an orgy of shopping"; "an emotional binge"; "a splurge of spending" [syn: orgy, binge, splurge]
2: secret rite in the cults of ancient Greek or Roman deities involving singing and dancing and drinking and sexual activity
3: a wild gathering involving excessive drinking and promiscuity [syn: orgy, debauch, debauchery, saturnalia, riot, bacchanal, bacchanalia, drunken revelry]

Merriam Webster's

noun (plural orgies) Etymology: Middle French orgie, from Latin orgia, plural, from Greek; akin to Greek ergon work — more at work Date: circa 1561 1. secret ceremonial rites held in honor of an ancient Greek or Roman deity and usually characterized by ecstatic singing and dancing 2. a. drunken revelry b. a sexual encounter involving many people; also an excessive sexual indulgence 3. excessive indulgence in something especially to satisfy an inordinate appetite or craving <an orgy of destruction> <a national orgy of thrill seeking and risk taking — K. T. Greenfeld>

English Explanatory Dictionary

n. (pl. same or oribis) a small S. African grazing antelope, Ourebia ourebi,having a reddish fawn back and white underparts. [prob. Khoisan]

Oxford Reference Dictionary

n. (pl. -ies) 1 a wild drunken festivity at which indiscriminate sexual activity takes place. 2 excessive indulgence in an activity. 3 (usu. in pl.) Gk & Rom. Hist. secret rites used in the worship of esp. Bacchus, celebrated with dancing, drunkenness, singing, etc. Etymology: orig. pl., f. F orgies f. L orgia f. Gk orgia secret rites

Webster's 1913 Dictionary

Orgy Or"gy, n.; pl. Orgies. A frantic revel; drunken revelry. See Orgies

Webster's 1913 Dictionary

Orgies Or"gies, n. pl.; sing. Orgy. Note: [The singular is rarely used.] [F. orgie, orgies, L. orgia, pl., Gr. ?; akin to ? work. See Organ, and Work.] 1. A sacrifice accompanied by certain ceremonies in honor of some pagan deity; especially, the ceremonies observed by the Greeks and Romans in the worship of Dionysus, or Bacchus, which were characterized by wild and dissolute revelry. As when, with crowned cups, unto the Elian god, Those priests high orgies held. --Drayton. 2. Drunken revelry; a carouse. --B. Jonson. Tennyson.

Collin's Cobuild Dictionary

(orgies) 1. An orgy is a party in which people behave in a very uncontrolled way, especially one involving sexual activity. ...a drunken orgy. N-COUNT 2. You can refer to an activity as an orgy of that activity to emphasize that it is done to an excessive extent. One eye-witness said the rioters were engaged in an orgy of destruction... N-COUNT: with supp, usu N of n [emphasis]

Moby Thesaurus

Saturnalia, abandon, bacchanal, bacchanalia, bacchanalian, bat, bender, binge, bout, bust, carousal, carouse, celebration, compotation, craze, debauch, debauchery, debauchment, delirium, dissipation, drinking bout, drunk, drunken carousal, ecstasy, escapade, fire and fury, fling, free living, frenzy, furor, furore, fury, guzzle, high living, hysteria, intoxication, jag, killing pace, lark, licentiousness, madness, orgasm, overindulgence, party, passion, ploy, potation, pub-crawl, rage, rampage, randan, randy, rapture, ravishment, revel, riotous living, saturnalia, soak, splurge, spree, symposium, tear, tearing passion, toot, towering rage, transport, wassail, wingding