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🎭 A Hamlet character 🗣️ A pompous talker
Polonius

Polonius

8 9.5
A character in Shakespeare's play Hamlet who talks a lot and gives advice to others
  • proper noun
  • /pəˈloʊniəs/
  • Literature
translation icon : Polonio
  • Coleridge once said that Polonius, in Hamlet, is the embodiment of a reputation for wisdom no longer possessed.
  • Polonius gives advice
  • Polonius and Hamlet

Examples

  • The difficulty is that the prevailing image of Polonius today is that of the boring, garrulous, fussy old meddler.

    Academic text (2002)

  • Hamlet, in madness, hath Polonius slain.

    Hamlet (1990)

  • I watched your scene with Polonius.

    To Be or Not to Be (1942)

  • You have no choice whether you play Hamlet or Polonius, only whether you perform well or badly.

    Fiction book (2001)

  • "I guess you think your old dad is more of a doddering old Polonius anyway.

    Fiction book (2002)

  • - Now, Hamlet, where's Polonius?

    Hamlet (1948)

  • My Lord Polonius.

    Ophelia (2019)

  • Where is Polonius?

    Hamlet (1990)

  • The latter seems more compelling to Claudius than the former, but Polonius wants to defer giving the domestic news.

    Academic text (2002)

  • In Shakespeare's play Hamlet, Polonius often offers misguided advice to his children.

Antonyms

silent
397 1.0

Not speaking when people expect an answer

reserved
3.7

Not willing to show feelings or talk much

Surface Forms

Polonius main

Etymology

Polonius is Shakespeare's talkative, meddling advisor in Hamlet, and his name echoes Latin Polonus or Polonia, meaning 'a Pole' from Poland. He is remembered for long, pompous speeches and advice, which is why his character stands for a meddlesome, long-winded person.