Pasternak

American  

[pas-ter-nak, puh-styir-nahk] / ˈpæs tərˌnæk, pə stjɪrˈnɑk /

noun

1. Boris Leonidovich 1890–1960, Russian poet, novelist, and translator: declined 1958 Nobel Prize.

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Pasternak British  

/ ˈpæstəˌnæk, pəstɪrˈnak /

noun

1. Boris Leonidovich (baˈris lɪaˈnidəvitʃ). 1890–1960, Russian lyric poet, novelist, and translator, noted particularly for his novel of the Russian Revolution, Dr. Zhivago (1957). He was awarded the Nobel prize for literature in 1958, but was forced to decline it

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Example Sentences

If the distinguished Soviet literary scholar Olga Freidenberg is known at all in the West, it is for her 45-year correspondence with her beloved first cousin, the novelist and poet Boris Pasternak.

From The Wall Street Journal • Apr. 24, 2026

“If not the Americans, then the Europeans will definitely support us,” said Oleksiy Pasternak, a 38-year-old engineering officer serving in northeastern Ukraine.

From The Wall Street Journal • Nov. 25, 2025

JR’s engagement with timely issues and his inclusiveness make it easy for people to love his work, said Anne Pasternak, director of the Brooklyn Museum.

From New York Times • Apr. 27, 2023

It could be the potential risks from head impacts "are offset by having good physical fitness", study author Björn Pasternak says, which may also explain the lower Parkinson's risk.

From BBC • Mar. 16, 2023

At one point, she tried her experiment by playing passages not from LordJim but from Doctor Zhivago by Boris Pasternak, the book that launched the epic film.

From "A Deadly Wandering: A Mystery, a Landmark Investigation, and the Astonishing Science of Attention in the Digital Age" by Matt Richtel