Babylonian

1 of 2

noun

Bab·y·lo·nian ˌba-bə-ˈlō-nyən

-nē-ən

Synonyms of Babylonian

: a native or inhabitant of ancient Babylonia or Babylon

: the form of the Akkadian language used in ancient Babylonia

Babylonian

2 of 2

adjective

: of, relating to, or characteristic of Babylonia or Babylon, the Babylonians, or Babylonian

: marked by luxury, extravagance, or the pursuit of sensual pleasure

the Babylonian halls of the big hotel—G. K. Chesterton

the Babylonian delights of the city

Examples of Babylonian in a Sentence

Adjective the Babylonian glitter of the city's gold coast

Recent Examples on the Web

Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.

Noun

The first Temple’s razing, by the Babylonian Empire, occurred in 586 BCE; the second, in 70 CE, was perpetrated by the Romans. —Avi Shafran, New York Daily News, 12 Aug. 2024

The tablets most likely come from Sippar, an ancient city southwest of modern-day Baghdad that flourished during the Babylonian Empire, George tells Live Science’s Owen Jarus. —Eli Wizevich, Smithsonian Magazine, 9 Aug. 2024 The building was destroyed in 586 BCE when Babylonian King Nebuchadnezzar II sacked Jerusalem for the second time, effectively destroying the Kingdom of Judah. —Jennifer Ouellette, Ars Technica, 25 May 2023

Adjective

Cristina lounges about between scenes in velvet frocks and jackets, tended by a criminally obliging doctor, like a figure from Hollywood’s Babylonian era. —Stephanie Bunbury, Deadline, 16 Feb. 2025 The Code of Hammurabi, a Babylonian legal code, according to History, contains one of the earliest beliefs that Friday the 13th is unlucky because a 13th law was omitted from its list of legal rules. —Zach Bradshaw, The Arizona Republic, 13 Dec. 2024 The application includes the complete Babylonian Talmud, the five books of the Torah, the six books of the Mishnah and dozens of other Jewish books and writings. —Daniel Edelson, Sun Sentinel, 22 Feb. 2024 Ethan Hawke's true-crime writer finds a box of Super 8 home movies in his attic, playing them and consequently putting his family in grave danger thanks to the appearance of a Babylonian deity named Bughuul. 39. —Brian Truitt, USA TODAY, 25 Oct. 2024 The four tablets analyzed in the new study date to the middle and late Old Babylonian periods (circa 1894 to 1595 B.C.E.), some 4,000 years ago. —Eli Wizevich, Smithsonian Magazine, 9 Aug. 2024 The formula for its hero product, a natural soap housed in refillable glass bottles, is inspired by 5,000-year-old Babylonian recipes. —Justin Fenner, Robb Report, 8 Aug. 2024 This verse seems to invoke the Babylonian custom of tattooing servants. —Gustavo Morello, The Conversation, 10 July 2024 During his reign in the sixth century BC, Cyrus the Great—Kourosh in Persian, Koresh in Hebrew—was famous for having liberated the Jews from Babylonian captivity. —Ali M. Ansari, Foreign Affairs, 29 May 2024

Word History

First Known Use

Noun

1530, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Adjective

1553, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Time Traveler

The first known use of Babylonian was in 1530

See more words from the same year

Cite this Entry

Style

“Babylonian.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/Babylonian. Accessed 21 Mar. 2025.

Copy Citation

Babylonian

noun

adjective

Synonyms

Examples of Babylonian in a Sentence

Word History

Browse Nearby Words

Cite this Entry

More from Merriam-Webster

Can you solve 4 words at once?

Can you solve 4 words at once?

Word of the Day

permeate

Popular in Grammar & Usage

The Difference Between 'i.e.' and 'e.g.'

How to Use Em Dashes (—), En Dashes (–) , and Hyphens (-)

Why is '-ed' sometimes pronounced at the end of a word?

What's the difference between 'fascism' and 'socialism'?

More Commonly Misspelled Words

Popular in Wordplay

What do SCOTUS, POTUS, and FLOTUS mean?

Flower Etymologies For Your Spring Garden

More Words with Remarkable Origins

Terroir, Oenophile, & Magnum: Ten Words About Wine

8 Words for Lesser-Known Musical Instruments

Popular Features

The Difference Between 'i.e.' and 'e.g.'

What do SCOTUS, POTUS, and FLOTUS mean?

Flower Etymologies For Your Spring Garden

Games & Quizzes

Babylonian

noun

adjective

Synonyms

Examples of Babylonian in a Sentence

Word History

Rhymes for Babylonian

Browse Nearby Words

Cite this Entry

Share

More from Merriam-Webster

Can you solve 4 words at once?

Can you solve 4 words at once?

Word of the Day

permeate

Popular in Grammar & Usage

The Difference Between 'i.e.' and 'e.g.'

How to Use Em Dashes (—), En Dashes (–) , and Hyphens (-)

Why is '-ed' sometimes pronounced at the end of a word?

What's the difference between 'fascism' and 'socialism'?

More Commonly Misspelled Words

Popular in Wordplay

What do SCOTUS, POTUS, and FLOTUS mean?

Flower Etymologies For Your Spring Garden

More Words with Remarkable Origins

Terroir, Oenophile, & Magnum: Ten Words About Wine

8 Words for Lesser-Known Musical Instruments

Popular Features

The Difference Between 'i.e.' and 'e.g.'

What do SCOTUS, POTUS, and FLOTUS mean?

Flower Etymologies For Your Spring Garden

Games & Quizzes