kip·ling·esque \| ̷ ̷ ̷ ̷|esk\adjective Usage: usually capitalized Etymology: Rudyard Kipling + English -esque 1.: of, resembling, or having the characteristics of the literary style of Rudyard Kipling < the poems … were direct, Kiplingesque — Gertrude Stein > 2.: characterized by an attitude of superiority over and a responsibility for nonwhite peoples often associated with the writings of Rudyard Kipling < a Kiplingesque condescension toward China — F.J.Brown & J.S.Roucek >