Chekhovian

[ che-koh-vee-uhn, -kaw-fee-, -kof-ee-; chek-aw-fee-uhn, -of-ee- ]

adjective

1. of, relating to, or characteristic of Anton Chekhov or his writings, especially as they are evocative of a mood of introspection and frustration.

Word History and Origins

Origin of Chekhovian¹

First recorded in 1920–25; Chekhov + -ian

Example Sentences

He was like some cryptic English-Chekhovian figure, playing out the last days of his private, imagined Raj.

From The Daily Beast

But at the same time there is a Chekhovian side of Coward waiting to be mined.

From The Daily Beast

Well, not quite Chekhovian, but it that Chekhovian moment of intimacy that just sort of wafts away.

From The Daily Beast

He invented wonderful Chekhovian names, of which I now—alas!

From Project Gutenberg

His Chekhovian mots and those little traits that astonish us by their neatness and appositeness, he often took direct from life.

From Project Gutenberg

But it is his prodigious fantasy that makes the point of his departure from the Chekhovian formula.

From Project Gutenberg

O, the overwhelming depth of these simple, ordinary, very Chekhovian words!

From Project Gutenberg