picaresque

Example Sentences

Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.

The 18th century teemed with picaresque tales of comic misadventure.

From The Wall Street Journal • Feb. 9, 2026

“The book is also a comedy, and there is a picaresque quality to it that Justin made a brilliant adaptation of, because it’s a romantic movie, but it’s also very funny.”

From Los Angeles Times • Dec. 4, 2024

Seattle Times reviewer Wingate Packard called this 1950s road-trip tale “a hefty slab of clever storytelling,” adding that “Towles plays stylishly with elements of the picaresque, the coming-of-age novel and the epic quest.”

From Seattle Times • Mar. 27, 2023

“Oreo” is satire and metafiction, a picaresque and a bildungsroman.

From New York Times • Mar. 7, 2023

When Edward Abbey was writing The Monkey Wrench Gang, his picaresque novel about eco-terrorism in the canyon country, his pal Ken Sleight was said to have inspired the character Seldom Seen Smith.

From "Into the Wild" by Jon Krakauer