Johnsonian

American  

[jon-soh-nee-uhn] / dʒɒnˈsoʊ ni ən /

adjective

1. of, relating to, or characteristic of Samuel Johnson or his works.

2. having the quality of Johnsonese.

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noun

1. a person who writes in the Johnsonian style.

2. a teacher or critic who specializes in the works of Samuel Johnson.

Johnsonian British  

/ dʒɒnˈsəʊnɪən /

adjective

1. of, relating to, or characteristic of Samuel Johnson, his works, or his style of writing

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Other Word Forms

• Johnsonianism
  noun
• post-Johnsonian
  adjective
• Johnsonianly
  adverb

Etymology

Origin of Johnsonian

First recorded in 1785–95; Johnson + -ian

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

Johnsonian

“But he has banished the much-ridiculed ‘Global Britain’ Johnsonian slogan, preferring to under-promise and over-deliver.

From New York Times ● Mar. 19, 2023

This was a very Johnsonian example of self-promotion.

From BBC ● Nov. 7, 2022

That’s because the idea of excellence, and the fundamental view of the arts held by Kennedy himself, are a bit of an embarrassment in today’s democratically minded Johnsonian age of American arts.

From Washington Post ● Jun. 19, 2017

This was a case where Clinton needed to be more Johnsonian.

From The New Yorker ● Jan. 12, 2015

But both were curiously English in a sort of knock-me-down Johnsonian dogmatism; and both were in consequence extremely intolerant.

From A History of Nineteenth Century Literature (1780-1895) by George Saintsbury