roman à clef
/rəʊˌmɑn.əˈkleɪ/
Word Rarity
Very rare
Frequency: Zipf frequency 2.42 in modern English
16
Scrabble Score
10
Letters
3
Syllables
10
Unique Chars
Meaning
noun
A piece of fiction, especially a novel, describing real-life people or events.
Example Sentences
- "I want to emphasize that in this respect my account of romance differs substantially from both Annabel Patterson's argument that the primary purpose of roman à clef in early modern England was to avoid censorship and Michael McKeon's […]"
- "In the end, the fragmentary nature of the text and Dora's abrupt decision to terminate her treatment indicate that as a narrative technology, the roman à clef fails. This owes less to the particulars of the individual case, however, than to Freud's […]"
- "However, I would argue that this feature of the roman à clef need not be characterized as an impediment to interpretation. If the layered address contained in novels that encrypt references to the 'real' is acknowledged as itself a characteristic […]"
Etymology
Origin
- Source language: French
Word Breakdown
Inflected Forms
Phrases
film à clef
Frequently Paired Words
film à clef