Chekhovian

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

adjective

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

Origin of Chekhovian

First recorded in 1920–25; Chekhov + -ian

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2018

Examples from the Web for chekhovian

Contemporary Examples of chekhovian

But at the same time there is a Chekhovian side of Coward waiting to be mined.
Rupert Everett Unleashed
Kevin Sessums
April 6, 2009
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

Historical Examples of chekhovian

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
O, the overwhelming depth of these simple, ordinary, very Chekhovian words!
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