Learning English

-esque

The suffix -esque is another one that is used in eponymous adjectives. It's simply added to the end of the name.

These examples all come from the arts. Do you who they refer to?

Daliesque
In the style of Salvador Dali, the Spanish surrealist painter.

Capraesque
In the style of Frank Capra, the Italian-American film director.

Rubenesque
In the style of Peter Paul Rubens, the Flemish painter.

Dylanesque
In the style of Bob Dylan, the musician from the US.

Kafkaesque
In the style of Franz Kafka, the writer. Also used to describe a nightmarish situation with complex bureaucracy and a feeling of oppression.

• When I arrived at the airport they arrested me, a case of mistaken identity. When they finally realised their mistake they let me go but then arrested me again because my visa had run out. It had only run out because they had kept me in jail! What a Kafkaesque nightmare.

Pythonesque
In the style of Monty Python, the British comedy group.

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Not just for eponymous adjectives

There are a few common adjectives ending in -esque that are not eponymous. 

picturesque - a place that is attractive and charming

• There are hundreds of picturesque villages in rural France.

statuesque - a description of someone tall, dignified and graceful: usually used about a woman.

• The princess looked statuesque in her stunning dress.

grotesque - looking disgusting and ugly or shockingly inappropriate

• At Halloween he went out in a grotesque mask that was really scary. 
• When he was chairman of the company he earnt a grotesque amount of money.

To do

Can you use these -esque words the correct way? Try the quiz to find out.

End of Session 1

That's the end of the vocabulary session. Coming up in Session 2 it's grammar and a look at the future perfect.