Bluebeard

American  

[bloo-beerd] / ˈbluˌbɪərd /

noun

1. a fairy-tale character whose seventh wife found the bodies of her predecessors in a room she had been forbidden to enter.

2. any man alleged to have murdered a number of his wives or other women.

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Bluebeard British  

/ ˈbluːˌbɪəd /

noun

1. a villain in European folk tales who marries several wives and murders them in turn. In many versions the seventh and last wife escapes the fate of the others

2. a man who has had several wives

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Bluebeard Cultural  

1. A fairy tale character from the Charles Perrault collection. The character is a monstrous villain who marries seven women in turn and warns them not to look behind a certain door of his castle. Inside the room are the corpses of his former wives. Bluebeard kills six wives for their disobedience before one passes his test.

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Other Word Forms

• Bluebeardism noun

Example Sentences

There was no in-depth discussion of the new piece although they read different texts about Bluebeard, Mr. Minarik said.

From New York Times • Jan. 15, 2020

She is currently working on a film about Bluebeard.

From The Guardian • Oct. 28, 2018

Now on view in a handsome Spooky Action Theater production, directed by Helen R. Murray, Fréchette’s fable begins as a wry and suspenseful updating of the Bluebeard fairy tale.

From Washington Post • May 23, 2018

And Katy recommends Angela Carter's playful and subversive retellings of Charles Perrault's classic fairy tales, Bluebeard.

From Slate • May 19, 2017

Yarn puddles all over the floor until all that is left are a few round, fuzzy balls with strange names like Pluto, Strawberry, and Bluebeard.

From "A Step from Heaven" by An Na