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

WILL YOU SAIL OR STUMBLE ON THESE GRAMMAR QUESTIONS?

Smoothly step over to these common grammar mistakes that trip many people up. Good luck!

Question 1 of 7

Fill in the blank: I can’t figure out _____ gave me this gift.

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