textbookish

[tekst-book-ish]

adjective

1. suggesting a textbook, especially in literary style or composition.

Word History and Origins

Origin of textbookish¹

First recorded in 1925–30; textbook + -ish ¹

Example Sentences

The formidable drama critic Richard Gilman said of a 1983 revival that the play, “a muddled and textbookish tale of sexual desire, is in no way ‘larger-than-life,’ and the effort to make it so is precisely what makes it so melodramatic.”

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Having said that, they still command the love of an audience who greet seven textbookish new songs with all the disco-dancing giddiness they do the hits.

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That notion, a bit textbookish to most citizens, is a good deal less abstract to the 2.1 million members of the American military.

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Dr. Metz's running comment is on the textbookish side, but no matter.

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