Shakespearean

American  

[shayk-speer-ee-uhn] / ʃeɪkˈspɪər i ən /

Or Shakespearian

adjective

1. of, relating to, or suggestive of Shakespeare or his works.

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noun

1. a Shakespearean scholar; a specialist in the study of the works of Shakespeare.

Shakespearean British  

/ ʃeɪkˈspɪərɪən /

adjective

1. of, relating to, or characteristic of Shakespeare or his works

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noun

1. a student of or specialist in Shakespeare's works

Other Word Forms

• Shakespeareanism
  noun
• Shakespearianism
  noun
• half-Shakespearean
  adjective
• non-Shakespearean
  adjective
• non-Shakespearian
  adjective
• post-Shakespearean
  adjective
• post-Shakespearian
  adjective
• pre-Shakespearean
  adjective
• pre-Shakespearian
  adjective
• pseudo-Shakespearean
  adjective
• pseudo-Shakespearian
  adjective

Etymology

Origin of Shakespearean

First recorded in 1810–20; Shakespeare + -an

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

Shakespearean

There will be snacks, drinks, live music, kid crafts, a bouncy house, a handful of actors in Shakespearean garb and scads of neighbors being neighborly.

From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 2, 2026

I don’t know if the Quran has stories like this, but it feels Shakespearean.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 10, 2026

Start plotting your Roth conversions in a manner akin to a Shakespearean conspiracist.

From MarketWatch ● May 21, 2026

Just before his dinner toast, Charles quoted a Shakespearean plea for peace -- but ended with a winking reference.

From Barron's ● Apr. 29, 2026

But in fact it had been seven years, or eight, or nine: the summer she worked at the Stratford Shakespearean Festival, the summer of Josef.

From "Cat's Eye" by Margaret Atwood