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vaudevillian

American  
[vawd-vil-yuhn, vohd-, vaw-duh-] / vɔdˈvɪl jən, voʊd-, ˌvɔ də- /

noun

  1. Also vaudevillist. a person who writes for or performs in vaudeville.


adjective

  1. of, relating to, or characteristic of vaudeville.

vaudevillian British  
/ ˌvəʊdəˈvɪlɪən, ˌvɔː- /

noun

  1. a person who writes for or performs in vaudeville

"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

adjective

  1. of, characteristic of, or relating to vaudeville

"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

Etymology

Origin of vaudevillian

First recorded in 1925–30; vaudeville + -ian


Example Sentences

Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.

See Examples For:

The book by Jay Thompson, Marshall Barer and Dean Fuller, which infuses vaudevillian mirth into “The Princess and the Pea,” has been updated by Amy Sherman-Palladino to be more in keeping with contemporary sensitivities.

From Los Angeles Times ● Dec. 16, 2024

That is a vaudevillian death sentence: as a rule, one never follows animal acts or children or child-like Muppets.

From Salon ● Feb. 9, 2024

He also played a hard-boiled radio station owner in “Memphis” and showed fine vaudevillian chops in “On the Twentieth Century” singing “Five Zeros,” an ode to the joys of money.

From Seattle Times ● Sep. 15, 2023

Likewise, she has never experienced the vaudevillian atmosphere of the Last Night, with all its flamboyant costumes and communal singalongs.

From BBC ● Sep. 8, 2023

They were the legs of a once quite widely acknowledged public beauty, a vaudevillian, a dancer, a very light dancer.

From "Franny and Zooey" by J. D. Salinger

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