Definition

1. Adjective:
   • Relating to or resembling the novels of Charles Dickens: Used to describe situations, characters, or atmospheres that are evocative of the world depicted in the works of Charles Dickens.
   • Characterized by poor social and economic conditions: Specifically refers to settings marked by poverty, social injustice, grim industrialization, or the plight of the poor, as commonly portrayed in Dickens's stories.

Usage Examples

• Adjective:
  • The overcrowded and soot-covered city had a distinctly dickensian feel.
  • He described the orphanage's conditions as dickensian, with children working long hours for little food.

Advanced Usage

• "dickensian squalor": Extreme poverty and filth reminiscent of Dickens's descriptions.
  • The journalist wrote about the dickensian squalor in the forgotten slums of the city.
• "a dickensian villain": A character who is cruel, miserly, or hypocritical, similar to antagonists in Dickens's novels.
  • The corrupt official was portrayed as a dickensian villain who showed no mercy to the poor.

Variants and Related Words

• Dickensian (capitalized): When referring directly to the author's style or era, it is often capitalized as a proper adjective.
  • The film's aesthetic was a homage to Dickensian London.

Synonyms

• Squalid: Dirty and unpleasant, especially as a result of poverty or neglect.
• Bleak: Lacking in warmth, life, or kindliness; grim.
• Victorian (in the context of social hardship): Relating to the period of Queen Victoria's reign, often associated with social inequality and industrialization.

Related Phrases

• "A tale of two cities": While this is the title of a Dickens novel, the phrase is sometimes used idiomatically to describe a situation of stark contrasts, which is a dickensian theme.
  • The economic divide created a tale of two cities within the metropolis.
• "Bah, humbug!": An exclamation popularized by the dickensian character Ebenezer Scrooge, used to express cynicism or dismissiveness.
  • His "Bah, humbug!" attitude toward the holidays was pure dickensian miserliness.

Adjective

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