Dickensian
Britishadjective
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of Charles Dickens or his works
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squalid and poverty-stricken
working conditions were truly Dickensian
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characterized by jollity and conviviality
a Dickensian scene round the Christmas tree
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grotesquely comic, as some of the characters of Dickens
Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
“London Falling” has a Dickensian texture, but nothing is fictional.
From The Wall Street Journal • Apr. 10, 2026
But a society’s values are, in large part, reflected by how it treats its most vulnerable members — and America in the 21st century is growing increasingly Dickensian.
From Salon • Sep. 16, 2025
Some children are living in "Dickensian" levels of poverty, England's children's commissioner has said.
From BBC • Jul. 8, 2025
California as a Dickensian, self-interested world of excess and disorder?
From Los Angeles Times • Nov. 6, 2024
“The Dickensian orphan boy was Pip from Great Expectations, and he was carrying the letter ‘E,’ making him Pip-E or, you know, Pippi.”
From "Mr. Lemoncello's Library Olympics" by Chris Grabenstein
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
