Definitions

from The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, 5th Edition.

  • adjective Of or relating to Rabelais or his works.
  • adjective Characterized by coarse humor or bold caricature.

from The Century Dictionary.

  • Of or pertaining to François Rabelais (about 1490–1553), a French priest, author of “Gargantua and Pantagruel”; resembling or suggestive of Rabelais and the characteristics of his thought and style. Compare Pantagruelism.

from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License.

  • adjective Pertaining to the works of Rabelais. Specifically, it means a style of satirical humour characterized by exaggerated characters and coarse jokes.

from WordNet 3.0 Copyright 2006 by Princeton University. All rights reserved.

  • adjective of or relating to or characteristic of Francois Rabelais or his works

Etymologies

from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License

Calque of French rabelaisien.

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Examples

  • She was a dedicated, highly trained practitioner, but she seemed to view the incident at West Dorm -- at least in some aspects -- as a kind of Rabelaisian joke.

    Incubus Arensberg, Ann, 1937- 1999

  • Lucas le Moigne represents the _esprit gaulois_, the spirit that is often called "Rabelaisian," though it is only one side of the genius of

    Christmas in Ritual and Tradition, Christian and Pagan Clement A. Miles

  • In it two Rabelaisian characters happen upon a strange island haunted by the sounds of a battle that is clearly not taking place.

    New Josipovici « Tales from the Reading Room 2009

  • The internet is a global lavatory wall, a Rabelaisian mixture of truth, lies, insanity and humour.

    Unlawful Killing – the film the British won't get to see | Keith Allen 2011

  • Mr. Rylance plays Johnny "Rooster" Byron, a booze-sodden drug dealer and teller of tall tales who would be known in England as "Falstaffian" or "Rabelaisian" and in America as "trailer trash."

    Their Lives of Loud Desperation Terry Teachout 2011

  • Charlotte Gainsbourg may be European pop royalty—the daughter of the Rabelaisian 1960s icon Serge Gainsbourg and actress-singer Jane Birkin—but she has a stealthy, no-fuss grace about her.

    A Pop Heiress Comes Ashore Steve Dollar 2011

  • He was a joy to be around: kind, erudite, Rabelaisian.

    Googling A Ghost John Olson 2011

  • Not only has he lived the life – his 20s were, by his own account, a decade devoted to disastrous financial punts and druggy self-destruction in his family's Mexican mansion – but he has the Rabelaisian prose style to match.

    Lights Out in Wonderland by DBC Pierre 2010

  • In the dark sewer of misanthropic, gynophobic, and Rabelaisian epithets running through the comments section of celebrity blogs, one can also find gems of authentic emotional connection to celebrity foibles from readers who have suffered tragedies of their own, or been drunk, high, or on pills and up way past their normal bedtimes.

    Shooting Britney 2008

  • In the dark sewer of misanthropic, gynophobic, and Rabelaisian epithets running through the comments section of celebrity blogs, one can also find gems of authentic emotional connection to celebrity foibles from readers who have suffered tragedies of their own, or been drunk, high, or on pills and up way past their normal bedtimes.

    Shooting Britney 2008

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