Ionesco

American  

[yuh-nes-koh, ee-uh-] / yəˈnɛs koʊ, i ə- /

noun

1. Eugène 1912–94, French playwright, born in Romania.

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Ionesco British  

/ jɔnɛsko, ˌiːəˈnɛskəʊ /

noun

1. Eugène (øʒɛn). 1912–94, French dramatist, born in Romania; a leading exponent of the theatre of the absurd. His plays include The Bald Prima Donna (1950) and Rhinoceros (1960)

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Example Sentences

Theatre of the Absurd pioneer Ionesco had called it an anti-Nazi play.

From Reuters • Nov. 24, 2021

Thank heaven for Eugene O’Neill and Eugène Ionesco, whose plays transported me into high school, where poetry was waiting and “Dover Beach” became my go-to receptacle for all teenage dreams and despair.

From New York Times • Aug. 6, 2021

Schisgal’s exploration of suicide and despair recalled other absurdist plays by European writers such as Samuel Beckett, Jean Genet and Eugène Ionesco, whom he cited as key influences.

From Seattle Times • Oct. 4, 2020

“It’s an absurdist black comedy-political allegory in the tradition of Ionesco that sometimes employs blank-verse iambic pentameter,” Lane said.

From The New Yorker • Apr. 20, 2019

Madame Ionesco scrunched her face until it looked like one of those ugly dolls people inexplicably make from withered apples.

From "The Unseen Guest" by Maryrose Wood