Wiktionary

kabuki

See also: Kabuki

English

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WOTD – 22 December 2006
 
a depiction of a kabuki theater scene.

Alternative forms

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Etymology

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Borrowed from Japanese 歌舞伎 (kabuki).

Pronunciation

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Noun

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kabuki (uncountable)

  1. (often capitalized) A form of Japanese theatre in which elaborately costumed male performers use stylized movements, dances, and songs in order to enact tragedies and comedies.
    • 2007 July 19, Charles Isherwood, “Guilty Pleasures of Comic Kabuki”, in The New York Times‎[1], →ISSN, archived from the original on 9 March 2021:
      Despite its self-consciously assumed irreverence toward traditional practices, “Hokaibo” incorporates all the essential elements of classic Kabuki: the all-male company of actors, exaggerated makeup, the stomping dances, the arresting, cross-eyed poses at moments of high drama that are recognized and applauded.
    • 2023 June 27, AFP, “Japanese kabuki actor arrested for allegedly assisting in his mother’s suicide”, in The Guardian‎[2], →ISSN, archived from the original on 15 July 2023:
      Ichikawa, whose real name is Takahiko Kinoshi, made his kabuki debut in 1980 and went on to become one of the country’s most renowned performers.
  2. (US, figuratively, by extension) A stylized, pretentious, and often hollow performance; (especially) political posturing.
    • 2005 June 12, Michael Kinsley, “No Smoking Gun”, in The Washington Post‎[3], archived from the original on 12 December 2024:
      The whole "weapons of mass destruction" concern was phony from the start, and the drama about inspections was just kabuki: going through the motions.
    • 2010 March 14, Jon Lackman, “It’s Time To Retire Kabuki: The word doesn’t mean what pundits think it does”, in Slate‎[4], archived from the original on 16 February 2020:
      Health care reform recently brought Kabuki to mind for both Rush Limbaugh—“what you have here is ‘Kabuki theater’”—and New York Times columnist Frank Rich: “[I]f I were to place an incautious bet on which political event will prove the most significant of February 2010, I wouldn’t choose the kabuki health care summit.”
    • 2020 January 29, Dan Brooks, “Comedy Written for the Machines”, in New York Times Magazine‎[5], archived from the original on 8 July 2020:
      The boy tells her she will find iPhone chargers if she takes five steps back. Here the performance shifts from mere stiltedness to a kind of hateful Kabuki, an affected defiance of how people naturally act: She walks backward, counting her steps, then turns and slaps her forehead.

Derived terms

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Translations

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Further reading

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Anagrams

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French

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Etymology

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Borrowed from Japanese 歌舞伎 (kabuki).

Pronunciation

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Noun

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kabuki m (plural kabukis)

  1. kabuki

Further reading

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Indonesian

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Indonesian Wikipedia has an article on:
Wikipedia id

Etymology

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From Japanese 歌舞伎 (kabuki).

Pronunciation

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  • IPA(key): /kaˈbuki/
  • Hyphenation: ka‧bu‧ki

Noun

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kabuki (plural kabuki-kabuki)

  1. (art, drama) kabuki

Further reading

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Italian

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Etymology

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Unadapted borrowing from Japanese 歌舞伎 (kabuki).

Pronunciation

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  • IPA(key): /kaˈbu.ki/
  • Rhymes: -uki
  • Hyphenation: ka‧bù‧ki

Noun

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kabuki m (uncountable)

  1. kabuki (Japanese theatrical genre)

Adjective

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kabuki (invariable)

  1. (relational) kabuki

Further reading

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  • kabuki in Treccani.it – Vocabolario Treccani on line, Istituto dell'Enciclopedia Italiana
  • kabuki in Dizionario Italiano Olivetti, Olivetti Media Communication

Japanese

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Romanization

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kabuki

  1. Rōmaji transcription of かぶき

Polish

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Polish Wikipedia has an article on:
Wikipedia pl
 
kabuki

Etymology

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Etymology tree
Japanese 歌舞伎ubor.
Polish kabuki

    Unadapted borrowing from Japanese 歌舞伎.

    Pronunciation

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    • IPA(key): /kaˈbu.ki/
    • Audio:(file)
    • Rhymes: -uki
    • Syllabification: ka‧bu‧ki

    Noun

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    kabuki n (indeclinable)

    1. kabuki (form of Japanese theatre in which elaborately costumed male performers use stylized movements, dances, and songs in order to enact tragedies and comedies)

    Further reading

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    • “kabuki”, in Polish dictionaries at PWN‎[6] (in Polish)
    • kabuki in PWN's encyclopedia

    Portuguese

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    Alternative forms

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    Etymology

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    Borrowing from Japanese 歌舞伎 (kabuki).

    Noun

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    kabuki m (uncountable)

    1. kabuki (form of Japanese theatre)

    Further reading

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    Romanian

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    Etymology

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    Unadapted borrowing from English kabuki or French kabuki, from Japanese 歌舞伎 (kabuki).

    Noun

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    kabuki n (uncountable)

    1. kabuki

    Declension

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    singular only indefinite definite
    nominative-accusative kabuki kabukiul
    genitive-dative kabuki kabukiului
    vocative kabukiule

    Spanish

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    Etymology

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    Borrowed from Japanese 歌舞伎 (kabuki).

    Pronunciation

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    • IPA(key): /kaˈbuki/ [kaˈβ̞u.ki]
    • Rhymes: -uki
    • Syllabification: ka‧bu‧ki

    Noun

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    kabuki m (plural kabukis)

    1. kabuki

    Adjective

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    kabuki (invariable)

    1. (relational) kabuki

    Further reading

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