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Synonyms

blank verse

American  
[blangk vurs] / ˈblæŋk ˈvɜrs /

noun

  1. unrhymed verse, especially the unrhymed iambic pentameter most frequently used in English dramatic, epic, and reflective verse.

blank verse British  

noun

  1. prosody unrhymed verse, esp in iambic pentameters

"Collins English Dictionary — Complete & Unabridged" 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012
blank verse Cultural  

  1. Verse written in iambic pentameter, without rhyme. Many of the speeches in the plays of William Shakespeare are written in blank verse; this example is from Macbeth:

    Tomorrow, and tomorrow, and tomorrow,

    Creeps in this petty pace from day to day,

    To the last syllable of recorded time;

    And all our yesterdays have lighted fools

    The way to dusty death. Out, out, brief candle!

    Life's but a walking shadow, a poor player

    That struts and frets his hour upon the stage

    And then is heard no more: it is a tale

    Told by an idiot, full of sound and fury,

    Signifying nothing.

Etymology

Origin of blank verse

First recorded in 1580–90

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Example Sentences

Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.

"This is the biggest mountain because I was always worried about the iambic pentameter, about blank verse, and not being trained as an actor," he says.

From BBC • Jun. 7, 2024

The theater piece is written in deliberately Bard-like blank verse and alludes to Shakespearean plots.

From Seattle Times • Apr. 20, 2022

Taking precedence over encomiums and recitations, costumes and nostalgia is the book itself, 710 pages of inner monologue and dialogue, stream of consciousness, blank verse, Greek classics and the venues and byways of Dublin, 1904.

From Los Angeles Times • Jan. 25, 2022

Only Saul Williams, as the fairy-king Oberon, seems to know his way around Shakespeare’s blank verse.

From Washington Post • Aug. 13, 2018

The play was demanding because the dialogue was in blank verse.

From "Spooked!" by Gail Jarrow

Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023

Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.