Shakespearean

or Shake·spear·i·an

[ sheyk-speer-ee-uhn ]

adjective

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

noun

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

Origin of Shakespearean

First recorded in 1810–20; Shakespeare + -an

Other words from Shakespearean

Shake·spear·e·an·ism, Shake·spear·i·an·ism, noun
half-Shake·spear·e·an, adjective
non-Shake·spear·e·an, adjective
non-Shake·spear·i·an, adjective
post-Shake·spear·e·an, adjective
post-Shake·spear·i·an, adjective
pre-Shake·spear·e·an, adjective
pre-Shake·spear·i·an, adjective
pseu·do-Shake·spear·e·an, adjective
pseu·do-Shake·spear·i·an, adjective

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023

How to use Shakespearean in a sentence

He calls the story of Petraeus's affair with Paula Broadwell a "Shakespearian twist."
Aaron Sorkin on Casting David Petraeus and Writing Steve Jobs | Lauren Ashburn | November 15, 2012 | THE DAILY BEAST
But it is proper to add that Shakespearian scholars in general do not accept this as a possibility.
Chaucer's Works, Volume 1 (of 7) -- Romaunt of the Rose; Minor Poems | Geoffrey Chaucer
May I suggest that you should be careful not to imply that Tolstoy's great Shakespearian heresy has no other support than mine.
Tolstoy on Shakespeare | Leo Tolstoy
If the editor could do this, he was a man of Shakespearian genius, and had minute knowledge of a dead society.
Homer and His Age | Andrew Lang
In the Shakespearian sense he lacked the dramatic faculty, and he had but slender gifts of invention and creation.
Beacon Lights of History, Volume XIII | John Lord

He was less English, less Shakespearian, less himself, in this piece than in his other dramatic works.
The English Stage | Augustin Filon

British Dictionary definitions for Shakespearean

Shakespearean

Shakespearian

/ (ʃeɪkˈspɪərɪən) /

adjective

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

noun

a student of or specialist in Shakespeare's works

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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