Radcliffian

R1A1D2C3L1I1F4F4I1A1N1

adjective

Of or pertaining to Ann Radcliffe (1764–1823), English pioneer of the Gothic novel.

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Meanings

adjectiveRadcliffian (comparative more Radcliffian, superlative most Radcliffian)

comparative more Radcliffian · superlative most Radcliffian · alternative Radcliffean

  1. Of or pertaining to Ann Radcliffe (1764–1823), English pioneer of the Gothic novel.

    And yet the cause, necessarily to be assumed as the sole one assignable, is in its very realism as much charged with that prime element of Radcliffian romance, the mysterious, as any that the ingenuity of the author of the Mysteries of Udolpho could devise.

    1924, Herman Melville, chapter 10, in Billy Budd, London: Constable & Co.

Origin

From Radcliffe + -ian.

Full word history & related roots →
Cite this entry
APA

Radcliffian. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 3, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/Radcliffian

MLA

“Radcliffian.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/Radcliffian. Accessed November 3, 2026.

Chicago

WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “Radcliffian,” accessed November 3, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/Radcliffian.

Source: Radcliffian on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.