lyric
Lyric (adj) means relating to poetry that expresses personal thoughts and feelings, often in a musical, song-like style. Example: “Keats is celebrated for his lyric poetry exploring beauty and mortality.”
How to Use Lyric
Learner’s notesIn plain EnglishDescribes personal, emotional poetry, or refers to the words of a song.
In everyday use, "lyrics" (plural) is far more common than the singular "lyric" for song words; "lyric" alone is more often used as an adjective or in poetry contexts.
Word Forms
more lyric comparative, lyrics plural, most lyric superlative
Fill the Gap
Can you complete this real example?
Keats is celebrated for his _____ poetry exploring beauty and mortality.
Etymology
From Latin lyricus, from Greek lurikos, "of the lyre" — originally describing poetry meant to be sung to lyre accompaniment.
Synonyms
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Frequently Asked Questions
What does “lyric” mean?
The word “lyric” means relating to poetry that expresses personal thoughts and feelings, often in a musical, song-like style. In plain terms, describes personal, emotional poetry, or refers to the words of a song.
How do you pronounce “lyric”?
“Lyric” is pronounced LIH-rihk (/ˈlɪɹɪk/ in IPA).
How do you use “lyric” in a sentence?
Here is “lyric” used in a sentence: “Keats is celebrated for his lyric poetry exploring beauty and mortality.”
What part of speech is “lyric”?
Depending on how it is used, “lyric” can be an adjective and a noun.
Where does the word “lyric” come from?
The word “lyric” comes from Latin. From Latin lyricus, from Greek lurikos, "of the lyre" — originally describing poetry meant to be sung to lyre accompaniment.
Is “lyric” a common word?
“Lyric” is an uncommon word in modern English, usually learned at around the A2 level.
How many meanings does “lyric” have?
“Lyric” has 2 distinct senses listed in this dictionary. The most common is: relating to poetry that expresses personal thoughts and feelings, often in a musical, song-like style.
What is the difference between "lyric" and "lyrics"?
"Lyric" as an adjective describes poetry that expresses personal thoughts and feelings in a musical, song-like style, while "lyrics" (plural) typically refers to the actual words of a song. "Lyric" can also be a singular noun for one line or piece of song text, but "lyrics" is the more common term for a song's full text.
What makes a poem "lyric" rather than narrative?
A lyric poem expresses personal thoughts and feelings in a musical, song-like style, focusing on emotion and expression, whereas a narrative poem is centered on telling a story with characters and events.
Is "lyric" used only for poetry, or can it describe song writing too?
"Lyric" describes both a style of poetry focused on personal feeling and, as a noun, the words of a song, so the term spans both traditional poetry and songwriting.