Bubbly Describes a Drink and a Personality
Bubbly means full of bubbles, and also cheerful. It is one of a set of words English applies to both liquids and people.
Bubbly means full of bubbles, and as a noun it means champagne or sparkling wine. Applied to people it means lively and cheerful, part of a set of liquid metaphors English uses for temperament: someone can be bubbly, effervescent, bubbling over or flat. *Effervescent* is the Latin version of exactly the same image.
- Full of bubbles. *A bubbly texture.*
- Cheerful and lively. *A bubbly personality.*
- Sparkling wine (informal). *A bottle of bubbly.*
Word forms
| Form | Word | Example |
|---|---|---|
| Adjective | bubbly | A bubbly manner. |
| Noun | bubbly | Open the bubbly. |
| Comparative | bubblier | Bubblier still. |
| Related | effervescent | An effervescent host. |
| Related | fizzy | A fizzy drink. |
How it is used in a sentence
- She has a bubbly personality.Cheerful.
- Let us crack open the bubbly.Sparkling wine.
- Effervescent means the same thing.From Latin: boiling up.
Liquid words for people
- Bubbly — lively and cheerful
- Effervescent — the Latin equivalent
- Flat — dull, without energy
- Bubbling over — unable to contain excitement
- Frothy — light and insubstantial
From *bubble* plus the adjective ending *-y*. The champagne sense dates from the late nineteenth century.
Is *bubbly* only for champagne?
Informally it covers any sparkling wine. Only wine from the Champagne region may legally be called champagne in most markets.
Bubbly or effervescent?
They mean the same. Effervescent is the more formal word and comes from Latin for boiling up.