From Longman Dictionary of Contemporary EnglishDickensianDic‧ken‧si‧an /dɪˈkenziən/ adjective POOROLD-FASHIONEDDickensian buildings, living conditions etc are poor, dirty, and unpleasant a single mother living in a Dickensian block of flats
Examples from the Corpus
Dickensian• The working conditions in the factory were positively Dickensian.• They had a Dickensian air with enormous dormitories and little privacy.• They were living in a Dickensian apartment block without proper heating or running water.• A Dickensian Christmas; a setting sun; a dainty damsel.• In Dickensian days Fagin had his thieves' kitchen in London, where he taught youngsters to pick pockets.• And for no better reason than this Dickensian Government will not provide the cash.• He describes his childhood as Dickensian in its poverty and hardship.• Despite her bleak background and threadbare, Dickensian sartorial habits, she certainly transmits an aura of elegance and gentility.• Seeking vengeance, he employs two Dickensian thugs, with startling and bleakly hilarious results.• In his coat, Winchell looks like a Dickensian undertaker; he embarrasses me.• The Dickensian workhouse mentality still exists, but you don't need to subscribe to it. 