Wag·ne·ri·an
väg-ˈnir-ē-ən 
-ˈner-
-ˈner-
: of, relating to, characteristic, or suggestive of Wagner or his music, stage operas, or theories
Examples of Wagnerian in a Sentence
Recent Examples on the Web
Alex Ross, New Yorker, 1 Dec. 2025
Jane Bua, New Yorker, 19 Sep. 2025
The Conrad, as the La Jolla venue is known, possesses an exceptionally sensitive acoustic, and at times Lim’s booming tone swamped Bach’s geometric designs—like a Wagnerian soprano singing Gregorian chant.
—Alex Ross, The New Yorker, 10 Mar. 2025
The Toto score for Dune was Wagnerian and powerful, yet the band never composed the soundtrack for another movie.
—Max Evry, Pitchfork, 13 Oct. 2023
Hitler and Film: The Führer's Hidden Passion By Bill Niven
Yale University Press, 2018, 312 pp.
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Hitler’s passion for art, architecture, and Wagnerian opera is common knowledge.
—Bill Niven, Foreign Affairs, 13 Aug. 2018
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Adjective
The doctor himself is characterized sometimes by boisterously chattering lines, sometimes by semi-Wagnerian bombast; at the end, his music turns elegiac, implicitly undercutting his dreams of beginning anew.
—Alex Ross, New Yorker, 1 Dec. 2025
Noun
The setting’s gravity is also reflected in the music: Bates includes haunting strings, spindly mandolin, and gritty analog synthesizers, along with Wagnerian tubas, a nod to Adolf Hitler’s composer of choice.
—Jane Bua, New Yorker, 19 Sep. 2025
The Conrad, as the La Jolla venue is known, possesses an exceptionally sensitive acoustic, and at times Lim’s booming tone swamped Bach’s geometric designs—like a Wagnerian soprano singing Gregorian chant.
—Alex Ross, The New Yorker, 10 Mar. 2025
The Toto score for Dune was Wagnerian and powerful, yet the band never composed the soundtrack for another movie.
—Max Evry, Pitchfork, 13 Oct. 2023
Hitler and Film: The Führer's Hidden Passion By Bill Niven
Yale University Press, 2018, 312 pp.
Loading...
Hitler’s passion for art, architecture, and Wagnerian opera is common knowledge.
—Bill Niven, Foreign Affairs, 13 Aug. 2018
Cite this Entry
“Wagnerian.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/Wagnerian. Accessed 1 Feb. 2026.
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