Meaning & use

Raskolnikov

proper noun·Advanced

The impoverished former student and protagonist of Fyodor Dostoevsky's novel Crime and Punishment, who murders a pawnbroker.

See it in a sentence

Raskolnikov is tormented by guilt long before the police ever suspect him.

Literature students often debate whether Raskolnikov ever truly repents for his crime.

A note on using this word

The name is sometimes used allusively to describe someone wracked by guilt after committing a serious wrong.

Words with a similar meaning

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