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Polonius

American  
[puh-loh-nee-uhs] / pəˈloʊ ni əs /

noun

  1. the sententious father of Ophelia in Shakespeare's Hamlet.


Example Sentences

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“Hamnet,” by contrast, is to feeling what Polonius, the famously bloviating cliché-monger in “Hamlet,” is to wisdom.

From The Wall Street Journal Nov. 27, 2025

Bushy-browed Waterston began his acting career as a stage actor in New York with a number of Shakespeare roles, including Lear, Hamlet, Polonius, Laertes, Prospero, Leonato, Prince Hal, Silvius, Cloten and Benedict.

From Seattle Times Feb. 2, 2024

Last year, Van Norden played Polonius in an otherwise unmemorable Antaeus production of “Hamlet” and made the character seem more fascinating than even Hamlet.

From Los Angeles Times Jul. 10, 2023

Daniel Pearce makes of Polonius a hilariously pedantic desk jockey and bad idea bear.

From New York Times Jun. 28, 2023

Then he, the wise Polonius, would be advanced for his good counsel.

From "Ophelia" by Lisa Klein

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