Byronic

[bahy-ron-ik]

adjective

1. of or relating to Lord Byron.

2. possessing the characteristics of Byron or his poetry, especially romanticism, melancholy, and melodramatic energy.

Other Word Forms

• Byronically adverb
• Byronism noun

Word History and Origins

Origin of Byronic¹

First recorded in 1815–25; Byron + -ic

Example Sentences

So were his swagger and Byronic good looks.

From New York Times

In heroic, Byronic fashion, the show’s director and lead Fabian Hinrichs rescued the evening by jumping into the fray and assuming his absent co-star’s role, along with his own.

From New York Times

Mussolini himself ended up being lynched alongside his mistress at a Milan petrol station by his own countrymen — hardly the Byronic man of destiny's heroic death in battle.

From Salon

The gaps and silences suggest a woman who cherished privacy and quietude, a woman seeking shelter from her Byronic reputation.

From New York Times

The sisters are celebrated for their writing — totally — for the creation of the three-dimensional Jane and Catherine and the Byronic bad boys Mr. Rochester and Heathcliff.

From Washington Post