Dostoevsky

American

[dos-tuh-yef-skee, duhs-, duh-stuh-yef-skyee] / ˌdɒs təˈyɛf ski, ˌdʌs-, dʌ stʌˈyɛf skyi /

Or Dostoyevsky,

noun

Fyodor Mikhailovich 1821–81, Russian novelist.

Dostoevsky British

/ dəstaˈjɛfskij, ˌdɒstɔɪˈɛfskɪ /

noun

Fyodor Mikhailovich (ˈfjɔdər miˈxajləvitʃ). 1821–81, Russian novelist, the psychological perception of whose works has greatly influenced the subsequent development of the novel. His best-known works are Crime and Punishment (1866), The Idiot (1868), The Possessed (1871), and The Brothers Karamazov (1879–80)

"Collins English Dictionary — Complete & Unabridged" 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

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Tolstoy vs. Dostoevsky

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.

One of the most popular is called “Pursuing the Good Life”; this semester, readings included the Bible, Plato, Rousseau, Nietzsche and Dostoevsky, along with poetry by Sylvia Plath and music by Beethoven.

From The Wall Street Journal • Feb. 21, 2026

In “Crime and Punishment,” Dostoevsky wrote that everyone needs a somewhere.

From Los Angeles Times • May 21, 2025

It’s a treasure trove of literary titans from Franz Kafka to Fyodor Dostoevsky.

From BBC • Jun. 3, 2024

“The Russians, Tolstoy and Dostoevsky, are constantly sold out. And Japanese literature has really had a huge resurgence.”

From Seattle Times • May 25, 2023

He said that everything there was to know about life was in The Brothers Karamazov, by Feodor Dostoevsky.

From "Slaughterhouse-Five" by Kurt Vonnegut

Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023