SYNONYMS AND RELATED EXPRESSIONS
bookish
adjective
Strongly interested in books or learning, sometimes more than in practical experience.
Local English device voice, when available. This is not a recorded dictionary pronunciation.
Fond of books and study
Closest synonyms
Related words and expressions
These extend or explain the idea and may require a different sentence structure.
Usage distinction
Return to topWell-read describes knowledge gained; bookish can suggest a preference for study over practical activity.
CHECK THE MEANING IN CONTEXT
See bookish in use
The bookish visitor could happily spend an afternoon discussing unfamiliar authors.
A bookish apprentice arrived at the weaving workshop with notebooks full of reading about cloth, though she had little experience using a loom.
Compare an alternative with the original word in each passage. Shared meanings do not make every pair interchangeable.
Synonym reference scope and sources
The groups distinguish the senses selected for this study entry. Closest synonyms and broader related expressions have separate labels. The listed sources support lexical selection; not every phrase is a direct quotation from a source.
How the synonym reference was prepared / WordNet 3.0 license