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
Silent Retreat is a bodice ripper with a fillip of Roman Catholic ritual: a novice ripper.
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Air Mail, 14 June 2025
Though the classic bodice rippers have been around for years – see Lorraine Heath, Linda Lael Miller or Beverly Jenkins – cowboy romance novels are getting a contemporary rebrand of their own.
—Clare Mulroy, USA TODAY, 14 Feb. 2025
Erotic tabletop roleplaying games have moved beyond classic bodice rippers like Rapture’s Voyage.
—Linda Codega, Them, 14 Feb. 2025
For many cis-gender, heterosexual women who grew up reading pony stories, Tolkien fantasy, or 1980s bodice rippers, this scene is also indicative of a fundamental cultural shift that centralizes women’s autonomy.
—Rebecca Scofield / Made By History, TIME, 21 Jan. 2025
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.
—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
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Air Mail, 14 June 2025
Though the classic bodice rippers have been around for years – see Lorraine Heath, Linda Lael Miller or Beverly Jenkins – cowboy romance novels are getting a contemporary rebrand of their own.
—Clare Mulroy, USA TODAY, 14 Feb. 2025
Erotic tabletop roleplaying games have moved beyond classic bodice rippers like Rapture’s Voyage.
—Linda Codega, Them, 14 Feb. 2025
For many cis-gender, heterosexual women who grew up reading pony stories, Tolkien fantasy, or 1980s bodice rippers, this scene is also indicative of a fundamental cultural shift that centralizes women’s autonomy.
—Rebecca Scofield / Made By History, TIME, 21 Jan. 2025
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.
—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
Cite this Entry
“Bodice ripper.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/bodice%20ripper. Accessed 30 Jun. 2025.
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