Standard Lemma guide

dickens

name · noun · 7 senses · updated from the 2026-07-25 local source snapshot

Definitions and examples are grouped by meaning. Pronunciation, history, word forms, translations, descendants, synonyms, antonyms, derived terms, and related words appear whenever the source provides them.

Sound

Pronunciation

Each Play button uses your device's default local English voice, or a natural local fallback. The selected voice name appears after playback. This is synthesized speech, not a source recording.

  • /ˈdɪkɪnz/
  • General-American: Recorded audio is listed in the source snapshot.
  • /ˈdɪkənz/
  • Southern-England: Recorded audio is listed in the source snapshot.
  • rhymes with -ɪkənz
  • CMU ARPABET: D IH1 K AH0 N Z Digits mark lexical stress: 1 primary, 2 secondary, 0 unstressed.

1

name

Meaning 1

A surname originating as a patronymic, notably borne by Charles Dickens, English novelist.

Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract

No example sentence was provided for this meaning.

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: none provided

Antonyms: none provided

2

name

Meaning 2

A small city, the county seat of Dickens County, Texas, United States.

Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract

No example sentence was provided for this meaning.

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: none provided

Antonyms: none provided

3

noun

Meaning 3

The devil.

Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract

Usage: euphemistic

Examples

  • She can go to the dickens for what she said.
  • You scared the dickens out of me.

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: none provided

Antonyms: none provided

4

noun

Meaning 4

A disturbance or row.

Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract

No example sentence was provided for this meaning.

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: none provided

Antonyms: none provided

5

noun

Meaning 5

Used as an intensifier in the phrase the dickens; see that entry.

Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract

Examples

  • Why the dickens did he do that?
  • We had the dickens of a row.

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: none provided

Antonyms: none provided

6

noun

Meaning 6

a word used in exclamations of confusion

Definition source: Princeton WordNet 3.0

Examples

  • what the devil
  • the deuce with it
  • the dickens you say

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: devil, deuce

Antonyms: none provided

Broader terms: exclamation, exclaiming

7

noun

Meaning 7

English writer whose novels depicted and criticized social injustice (1812-1870)

Definition source: Princeton WordNet 3.0

No example sentence was provided for this meaning.

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: Charles Dickens, Charles John Huffam Dickens

Antonyms: none provided

Broader terms: writer, author

History

Etymology

From Dicken, a medieval diminutive form of Dick + the patronymic suffix -s.

Origin: 1590–1600; apparently a fanciful use of the proper name Dicken, diminutive form of Dick.

Across languages

Translations

5 source translations are retained for this English entry.

  • Chinese Mandarin: 狄更斯 (Dígèngsī) — Transliterations of the surname
  • Japanese: ディケンズ (Dikenzu) — Transliterations of the surname
  • Marathi: डिकेन्स (ḍikensa) — Transliterations of the surname
  • Polish: Dickens — Transliterations of the surname
  • Russian: Ди́ккенс (Díkkens) — Transliterations of the surname
Real reading context

dickens in complete knowledge articles

Sydney Smith Haldimand Dickens Language & communication · Challenging · 10 uses Bleak House, Broadstairs Literature & books · Developing · 6 uses George Gissing Literature & books · Challenging · 6 uses Stephen Thomas Knight Literature & books · Challenging · 5 uses Rhodes to Perdition Everyday life · Accessible · 3 uses Kathleen Mary Tillotson Literature & books · Advanced · 2 uses Medal for Bravery (Bronze) People & society · Accessible · 1 uses