bodice ripper
noun
: a historical or Gothic romance typically featuring scenes in which the heroine is subjected to violence
Examples of bodice ripper in a Sentence
Recent Examples on the Web
The Hollywood Reporter’s annual hot list of the best new series heading to the market includes a glossy British bodice ripper, a Chinese gold-rush adventure tale, an all-American Western and an Irish drama to help ease the pains of Peaky Blinders withdrawal.
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Scott Roxborough, The Hollywood Reporter, 31 Mar. 2022
Gentlemen Callers is not a classic romance novel or a straightforward bodice ripper, Zoë Hu points out.
—Nicole Acheampong, The Atlantic, 2 Sep. 2022
Eiffel makes better sense, perhaps, as a high-gloss bodice ripper than a history lesson; the rest is lost in translation.
—Leah Greenblatt, EW.com, 3 June 2022
Even the romance novel genre, which shares some DNA with the Outlander saga despite Gabaldon's insistence that her books are not bodice rippers, has moved away from those tropes.
—Lynette Rice, EW.com, 11 May 2020
The emotional intensity reads as internal to the characters, that of a bildungsroman rather than the sensational projections of a bodice ripper.
—Lidija Haas, The New Republic, 12 Feb. 2020
Interpreters have treated it as everything from a bodice ripper to a deep philosophical treatise.
—Tony Adler, Chicago Reader, 26 Feb. 2018
From Guillermo del Toro, this lavish love story between a mute cleaning woman, played by Sally Hawkins, and a scaly amphibian man, played by Doug Jones, is part of a grand tradition of human-monster cinematic bodice rippers.
—Bruce Fretts, New York Times, 22 Feb. 2018
Scott Roxborough, The Hollywood Reporter, 31 Mar. 2022
Gentlemen Callers is not a classic romance novel or a straightforward bodice ripper, Zoë Hu points out.
—Nicole Acheampong, The Atlantic, 2 Sep. 2022
Eiffel makes better sense, perhaps, as a high-gloss bodice ripper than a history lesson; the rest is lost in translation.
—Leah Greenblatt, EW.com, 3 June 2022
Even the romance novel genre, which shares some DNA with the Outlander saga despite Gabaldon's insistence that her books are not bodice rippers, has moved away from those tropes.
—Lynette Rice, EW.com, 11 May 2020
The emotional intensity reads as internal to the characters, that of a bildungsroman rather than the sensational projections of a bodice ripper.
—Lidija Haas, The New Republic, 12 Feb. 2020
Interpreters have treated it as everything from a bodice ripper to a deep philosophical treatise.
—Tony Adler, Chicago Reader, 26 Feb. 2018
From Guillermo del Toro, this lavish love story between a mute cleaning woman, played by Sally Hawkins, and a scaly amphibian man, played by Doug Jones, is part of a grand tradition of human-monster cinematic bodice rippers.
—Bruce Fretts, New York Times, 22 Feb. 2018
These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'bodice ripper.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.
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“Bodice ripper.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/bodice%20ripper. Accessed 25 Apr. 2024.
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