Chekhovian

[ che-koh-vee-uhn, -kaw-fee-, -kof-ee-; chek-aw-fee-uhn, -of-ee- ]

/ tʃɛˈkoʊ vi ən, -ˈkɔ fi-, -ˈkɒf i-; ˈtʃɛk ɔ fi ən, -ɒf i- /

Save This Word!

adjective

of, relating to, or characteristic of Anton Chekhov or his writings, especially as they are evocative of a mood of introspection and frustration.

QUIZ

SHALL WE PLAY A "SHALL" VS. "SHOULD" CHALLENGE?

Should you take this quiz on “shall” versus “should”? It should prove to be a quick challenge!

Question 1 of 6

Which form is used to state an obligation or duty someone has?

Origin of Chekhovian

First recorded in 1920–25; Chekhov + -ian

He was like some cryptic English-Chekhovian figure, playing out the last days of his private, imagined Raj.
Alfred Hitchcock’s Fade to Black: The Great Director’s Final Days|David Freeman|December 13, 2014|DAILY BEAST
But at the same time there is a Chekhovian side of Coward waiting to be mined.
Rupert Everett Unleashed|Kevin Sessums|April 6, 2009|DAILY BEAST
Well, not quite Chekhovian, but it that Chekhovian moment of intimacy that just sort of wafts away.
My Conversation with John Updike|Barbara Probst Solomon|January 29, 2009|DAILY BEAST
He invented wonderful Chekhovian names, of which I now—alas!
Reminiscences of Anton Chekhov|Maxim Gorky

His Chekhovian mots and those little traits that astonish us by their neatness and appositeness, he often took direct from life.
Reminiscences of Anton Chekhov|Maxim Gorky
But it is his prodigious fantasy that makes the point of his departure from the Chekhovian formula.
The Old House and Other Tales|Feodor Sologub
O, the overwhelming depth of these simple, ordinary, very Chekhovian words!
Reminiscences of Anton Chekhov|Maxim Gorky