lyrical
adjective
Chris WileyNola OjomuStephen M. DeusnerMargaret Coble
Shena Mackay
Therese Sutherland
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To the ancient Greeks, anything lyrikos was appropriate to the lyre. That elegant stringed instrument was highly regarded by the Greeks and was used to accompany intensely personal poetry that revealed the thoughts and feelings of the poet. When the adjective lyric, a descendant of lyrikos, was adopted into English in the mid-late 1500s, it too referred to things pertaining or adapted to the lyre. It initially described poets, emotionally expressive poetic forms (such as elegies, odes, or sonnets), or works meant to be sung. Two lexical developments came soon after: lyric gained noun use as a term for a lyric composition or poem, and lyrical was adopted as an alternate adjective form. Lyrical is now the more common adjective; it’s used broadly to describe writing or other creative works that have an artistically beautiful or expressive quality. Meanwhile, in modern use lyric is most familiar in its plural noun form—a song's lyrics are its words. In other uses lyric is a technical term limited mostly to poetry (a lyric poet writes lyric poems, i.e., poems that express direct emotion) and opera (many opera companies use the word in their names, and a lyric soprano has a light voice and melodic style).
Synonyms
Examples of lyrical in a Sentence
Alex Berg, NBC News, 25 Apr. 2024
The album has prompted wildly divergent reactions, but our episode concentrates on unpacking lyrical mysteries, musical influences, and more.
—Brian Hiatt, Rolling Stone, 25 Apr. 2024
This lyrical novel chronicles the friendship of three Libyans who find themselves in unexpected exile in London for what proves to be 27 years.
—Lisa Anderson, Foreign Affairs, 23 Apr. 2024
For lyrical inspiration, Anarchia turned to the weibermacht tradition in medieval and Renaissance art, wherein strapping young men are made to kneel, chastened or humiliated, at the feet of powerful women.
—Brad Sanders, SPIN, 23 Apr. 2024
The program will also include the String Trio in B-flat Major, D 581 by Franz Schubert, one of the most lyrical of composers, and the Piano Quartet in A minor, Op. 1 by Josef Suk, who was the son-in-law of Czech composer Antonín Dvořák.
—Patrick Neas, Kansas City Star, 19 Apr. 2024
The wildly popular Welsh poet, who got his start in the 1930s, was known for his hyper emotional style of lyrical poetry that was full of clever wordplay and visual imagery.
—Shannon Carlin, TIME, 19 Apr. 2024
Some lyrical provocations have appeared to connect to actual bloodshed, as with the 1990s feud between Tupac and Biggie.
—Spencer Kornhaber, The Atlantic, 10 Apr. 2024
Passages sparkle lyrical here, spark with friction there, always marked by depth and humanity, inventive and engaging and always illuminating.
—Steve Hochman, SPIN, 15 Apr. 2024
These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'lyrical.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.
Dictionary Entries Near lyrical
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“Lyrical.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/lyrical. Accessed 3 May. 2024.
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