Dickensian
Say it: dih-KEN-zee-un /dɪˈkɛnziən/ · adjective
What “Dickensian” means
Marked by grim poverty and harsh living conditions.
More precisely: Reminiscent of the poverty and grim social conditions in Dickens's novels.
Example: “The landlord was charging a fortune for a damp, Dickensian basement.”
When to use it
For bleak poverty or harsh social conditions, especially when comparing them with nineteenth-century life in a literary tone.
Similar words
squalid, grim, Victorian
Where it comes from
From the novelist Charles Dickens.
Quick check
The drama shows hungry children labouring in a smoky Victorian factory before returning to crowded slums. Its setting is…
pastoral or Dickensian?
Show the answer
Dickensian
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