Dick·en·si·an

(dĭ-kĕn′zē-ən)

adj.

Of, relating to, or reminiscent of the works of Charles Dickens, especially with regard to their wide-ranging plots, eccentric characters, or grim depictions of the plight of children and the urban poor.

American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fifth Edition. Copyright © 2016 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.

Dickensian

(dɪˈkɛnzɪən)

adj

1. (Literary & Literary Critical Terms) of Charles Dickens or his works

2. (resembling or suggestive of conditions described in Dickens' novels, esp)

a. squalid and poverty-stricken: working conditions were truly Dickensian.

b. characterized by jollity and conviviality: a Dickensian scene round the Christmas tree.

3. (Literary & Literary Critical Terms) grotesquely comic, as some of the characters of Dickens

Collins English Dictionary – Complete and Unabridged, 12th Edition 2014 © HarperCollins Publishers 1991, 1994, 1998, 2000, 2003, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2011, 2014

ThesaurusAntonymsRelated WordsSynonymsLegend:

Adj.

Dickensian - of or like the novels of Charles Dickens (especially with regard to poor social and economic conditions)

Translations

Dickensian

[dɪˈkenzɪən] ADJ → dickensiano

Collins Spanish Dictionary - Complete and Unabridged 8th Edition 2005 © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1971, 1988 © HarperCollins Publishers 1992, 1993, 1996, 1997, 2000, 2003, 2005

Dickensian

adj character, novel → dickenssch attr; (= old-fashioned) building, style → antiquiert; it’s all very Dickensian → das ist alles wie aus einem Roman von Dickens

Collins German Dictionary – Complete and Unabridged 7th Edition 2005. © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1980 © HarperCollins Publishers 1991, 1997, 1999, 2004, 2005, 2007

Dickensian

[dɪˈkɛnzɪən] adj → dickensiano/a

Collins Italian Dictionary 1st Edition © HarperCollins Publishers 1995

Mentioned in

References in classic literature

He, being a humorist, explained to them the method of the celebrated Dickensian essay on Chinese Metaphysics by the gentleman who read an article on China and an article on Metaphysics and combined the information.

View in context

Dickensian Fox and Matt Sporting the kind of mutton chops a flock of birds might nest in, a dodgy ticker and a missing eyebrow - which "the dog chewed off" apparently - his jaded world view conjures up a Dickensian dystopia.

SUNDAY FILM & TV [...]

Dickensian Fox and Matt Berry Sporting the kind of mutton chops a flock of birds might nest in, a dodgy ticker and a missing eyebrow - which "the dog chewed off" apparently - his jaded world view conjures up a Dickensian dystopia.

bevan on the box; nathan bevan CASTS A CRITICAL EYE OVER THE WEEK'S TV

A weird amalgam of out-and-out silliness and dark drama (although there's an 80/20 split in favour of the funny stuff), Year of the Rabbit depicts 1880s London as a teeming den of both villainy and dysentery in which Berry's cosh-wielding, heavyhanded lawman metes out Dickensian Fox and Matt tough justice and some great one-liners.

bevan on the box; nathan bevan CASTS A CRITICAL EYE OVER THE WEEK'S TV

Labour's Catherine West (Hornsey and Wood Green) told the Prime Minister to use the "dying days of her premiership" to deal "with this terrible Dickensian situation".

End homelessness - May urged

Director Graeme Wingate stood by the "Dickensian" remarks last night.

The loan ranter; 1,575% payday boss condemned for demanding return of debtors' prisons

TheUlverston Dickensian Christmas Festival, which is taking place this weekend, promises two days of festive fun, including market stalls, entertainment, music and dancing.

Christmas festival comes up with X-rated hashtag to promote event to amusement of visitors; Organisers of the Ulverston Dickensian Christmas Festival, which is taking place this weekend, have come up with a rather cheeky hashtag to promote their event

A SOUTH Wales councillor has compared the problems which would be caused by the loss of public services to the plight of the Dickensian poor.

'Dickensian times' will follow cuts to councils' funding

As Carver follows the clues through Sydney's underbelly, he encounters a cast of bleakly Dickensian characters, from whistling streetwalkers to baby-faced policemen.

A Hangman for Ghosts

One Brent councillor has called for a stop to rogue landlords housing tenants in Victorian slum-like "Dickensian conditions."

16 people found crammed into 'slum-like' Kingsbury two bedroom flat; Tenants paid [pounds sterling]50 a week to live packed together on mattresses, bunkbeds in slum-like "Dickensian conditions" in Brent

Over the past two years, thousands of revellers have flocked to the event, which has been tweaked to drop the previous Dickensian theme.

Countdown to Warner Street's 'An Accrington Christmas'; Thousands of people have attended the popular event over the past two years