roman a clef

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.

Still, at least some of the backlash seems attributable to that same roman a clef fact.

From Los Angeles Times • Nov. 6, 2015

In “The Lothario,” her curiosity about a roman a clef widely rumored to be about a notorious womanizer is sparked by the fact that she was once toyed with by the same man.

From Washington Post • Dec. 12, 2014

In my complete adolescent self-absorption Beckett was less a human being than a character in a thinly-veiled roman a clef about me.

From Time • Jan. 11, 2012

Wells’ 1910 roman a clef, “The New Machiavelli,” calling the Webbs’ salon a “center of reference for all sorts of legislative proposals and political expedients.”

From BusinessWeek • Sep. 8, 2011

The name of Joe Klein, author of the celebrated roman a clef about the Clinton presidency, Primary Colors, itself published anonymously in 1996, has also been in the frame.

From The Guardian • Jan. 28, 2011