Tolkien

American  

[tohl-keen, tol-] / ˈtoʊl kin, ˈtɒl- /

noun

1. J(ohn) R(onald) R(euel) 1892–1973, English novelist, philologist, and teacher, born in South Africa.

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Tolkien British  

/ ˈtɒlkiːn /

noun

1. J ( ohn ) R ( onald ) R ( euel ). 1892–1973, British philologist and writer, born in South Africa. He is best known for The Hobbit (1937), the trilogy The Lord of the Rings (1954–55), and the posthumously published The Silmarillion (1977)

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Other Word Forms

• Tolkienesque
  adjective

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Example Sentences

See Examples For:

Tolkien

“The King Under the Mountain: In Search of J.R.R. Tolkien” is not a biography of Tolkien, something implied by that “In Search of” clause.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 30, 2026

Tolkien seems to have been of two minds about Shakespeare, Mr. Taylor relates—“suspicious of his reputation as a dramatist, while . . . allowing the resonance of many an individual line.”

From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 30, 2026

Tolkien that loosely translates to “tree” and, to the firm’s founders, reflects growth.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 15, 2026

Eileen Elgar, who died in 1980, used to live near the Hotel Miramar in Bournemouth where Tolkien and his wife holidayed every year.

From BBC ● Jul. 10, 2026

Kenny's a Tolkien freak, which is why we're sort of friends.

From "Things Not Seen" by Andrew Clements

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