Bildungsroman
[ bil-doongz-roh-mahn; German beel-doongks-raw-mahn ]
/ ˈbɪl dʊŋz roʊˌmɑn; German ˈbil dʊŋks rɔˌmɑn /
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noun, plural Bil·dungs·ro·mans, German Bil·dungs·ro·ma·ne [beel-doongks-raw-mah-nuh]. /ˈbil dʊŋks rɔˌmɑ nə/.
a type of novel concerned with the education, development, and maturing of a young protagonist.
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Origin of Bildungsroman
1905–10; <German, equivalent to Bildung formation + -s noun ending in compounds + Roman novel
Words nearby Bildungsroman
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2021
How to use Bildungsroman in a sentence
The sexual bildungsroman, for the uninitiated, centers on Adèle (Adèle Exarchopoulos), a 15-year-old high school student in Lille.
‘Blue is the Warmest Color’: See What the Sex Scene Looks Like In the Graphic Novel|Marlow Stern|October 28, 2013|DAILY BEASTPenelope is closer in sensibility to an anodyne sitcom than a precocious bildungsroman.
Paul Auster, Bernhard Schlink, and More of This Week’s Hot Reads: Aug. 13, 2012|Mythili Rao|August 12, 2012|DAILY BEAST
British Dictionary definitions for Bildungsroman
Bildungsroman
/ German (ˈbɪldʊŋsromaːn) /
noun
a novel concerned with a person's formative years and development
Word Origin for Bildungsroman
literally: education novel
Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition
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