watsonian
In real, traceable use. Part of the curated seed collection; community review is coming.
Meaning · English
Resembling or characteristic of the character Dr. Watson from the Sherlock Holmes stories. — From an in-universe perspective; of or relating to an explanation within the text; internal to the narrative.
Register: slang
Where it’s used:
Used
American English
Examples
I would accept that many of them behave like humans born on earth would, but that must be an artefact of poor translation or our poor understanding of their motives and objectives [Watsonian] or lack of vision on the writers part [Doylist - to borrow some terms from the Bujold mailing list - think '
Usage example from English Wiktionary (CC BY-SA 4.0, retrieved 2026-07-30)
Sources & notes
Adapted from English Wiktionary (CC BY-SA 4.0, retrieved 2026-07-30 via kaikki.org).
Common questions
What does “watsonian” mean?
Resembling or characteristic of the character Dr. Watson from the Sherlock Holmes stories. — From an in-universe perspective; of or relating to an explanation within the text; internal to the narrative.
Is “watsonian” formal or informal?
watsonian is generally slang.