picaresque

[ pik-uh-resk ]

adjective

1. pertaining to, characteristic of, or characterized by a form of prose fiction, originally developed in Spain, in which the adventures of an engagingly roguish hero are described in a series of usually humorous or satiric episodes that often depict, in realistic detail, the everyday life of the common people:

   picaresque novel; picaresque hero.

2. of, relating to, or resembling rogues.

   Synonyms: raffish, devilish, rascally, prankish

picaresque

/ ˌpɪkəˈrɛsk /

adjective

1. of or relating to a type of fiction in which the hero, a rogue, goes through a series of episodic adventures. It originated in Spain in the 16th century
2. of or involving rogues or picaroons

Other Words From

• unpic·a·resque adjective

Word History and Origins

Origin of picaresque¹

First recorded in 1800–10; from Spanish picaresco; picaro, -esque

Word History and Origins

Origin of picaresque¹

C19: via French from Spanish picaresco, from pícaro a rogue

Example Sentences

He sees himself as a picaresque hero in the novel that exists in his mind — and forces the rest of us to deal with it.

From Los Angeles Times

The sprawling, picaresque story uses 18th-century literary conventions to chronicle the adventures of Ebenezer Cooke, who takes possession of a tobacco farm in Maryland.

From Seattle Times

“Number Go Up” is a globe-trotting nonfiction picaresque that’s as much fun as you can have reading about financial malfeasance and blockchain scams.

From Los Angeles Times

The novel turns picaresque when Anna is whisked away to Hollywood on the thin pretense of an Ayn Rand television show.

From Los Angeles Times

Ninety-five years later, the novelist Miguel de Cervantes put this adventure novel on the imagined bookshelf of his gallant picaresque dreamer, Don Quixote de la Mancha — a true Californian if ever there was one.

From Los Angeles Times

Related Words

• anecdotal
• disjointed