Dictionary

-esque en · X

Pronunciation

• /ɛsk/
• (Southern-England) audio

Etymology

Etymology tree Proto-Indo-European *-iskos Proto-Germanic *-iskaz Proto-West Germanic *-iskbor. Vulgar Latin -iscus Italian -escobor. French -esquebor. English -esque Borrowed from French -esque (“-ish, -ic, -esque”), from Italian -esco, from Latin -iscus, of Germanic origin, from Lombardic -isc (“-ish”), from Proto-West Germanic *-isk, from Proto-Germanic *-iskaz (“-ish”), from Proto-Indo-European *-iskos. Cognate with Old High German -isc (German -isch), Old English -isċ, Old Norse -iskr, Gothic -𐌹𐍃𐌺𐍃 (-isks). Doublet of -ish and -ski.

Meanings

1. (morpheme) In the style or manner of; appended to nouns, especially proper nouns, and forming adjectives.
   • When the album succeeds, such as on the swaggering, Queen-esque “Nothing’s Gonna Stop Us,” it does so on The Darkness’ own terms—that is, as a random ’80s-cliché generator. 2012 August 21, Jason Heller, “The Darkness: Hot Cakes (Music Review)”, in The Onion AV Club, archived from the original on 30 Mar 2013:
   • Kafkaesque
2. (morpheme) Resembling; appended to nouns, especially proper nouns, and forming adjectives.
   • Needless to say, Mr. T abstained from the "Wolf of Wall Street"-esque extracurriculars on grounds that he didn't agree with Cubik Partners' definition of "fun," per his testimony in court. 2022 November 25, B. Cost, “Man wins legal right to be 'boring' at work, gets $3K from company”, in New York Post, NYP Holdings, archived from the original on 18 Aug 2025, retrieved 27 Nov 2022:
   • But amid all the disruption and norm-breaking, it’s Mr. Trump’s apparently keen interest in shaping American culture that may be most intriguing. To critics, it’s nothing less than a sign of his authoritarian bent – reminiscent of the Stalin-esque playbook that made government diktats over artistic expression a feature of the old Soviet Union. 2025 April 17, Linda Feldmann, “How Donald Trump is upending American culture”, in The Christian Science Monitor, archived from the original on 20 Apr 2025:

Forms

Synonyms

-oid (resembling) · -ly (resembling) · -y (resembling) · -iform (resembling) · para- (resembling) · -ish (resembling) · -form (resembling) · -ass (resembling; restricted to casual registers) · -some (resembling) · -like (resembling; forms adjectives from nouns only)

Translations (44)

eo laŭ-…-a (in the style of) · ru -подо́бный (resembling) · sv -likt (resembling) · ro -esc (in the style of) · sv -aktig (resembling) · da -lignende (resembling) · fr -esque (resembling) · nl -esk (resembling) · es -esco (resembling) · ja っぽい (in the style of) · hu -szerű (resembling) · tr -esk (resembling) · sv -aktig (in the style of) · tr -vari (in the style of) · pt -esco (in the style of) · eo -ŝajna (resembling) · nl -esk (in the style of) · sv -iskt (in the style of) · pt -esco (resembling) · ru -е́скный (in the style of) · da -agtig (resembling) · de -esk (in the style of) · es -esco (in the style of) · fr -esque (in the style of) · sv -lik (resembling) · pl -owy (resembling) · tr -sel (in the style of) · fi -mainen (resembling) · tr -vari (resembling) · eo -eca (resembling) · ca -esc (in the style of) · cmn -式的 (in the style of) · eo -eca (in the style of) · cmn -似的 (resembling) · it -esco (in the style of) · tr -ce (in the style of) · hu -i (in the style of) · tr -esk (in the style of) · eo -simila (resembling) · da -isk (in the style of) · eo -eska (in the style of) · fi -mainen (in the style of) · sv -isk (in the style of) · pl -owski (in the style of)