doggerel

Also dog·grel

[daw-ger-uhl, dog-er-]

adjective

1. (of verse)

   1. comic or burlesque, and usually loose or irregular in measure.

   2. rude; crude; poor.

noun

1. doggerel verse.

doggerel

/ ˈdɒɡərəl, ˈdɒɡrəl /

noun

1. 1. comic verse, usually irregular in measure

   2. ( as modifier )

      a doggerel rhythm

2. nonsense; drivel

Word History and Origins

Origin of doggerel¹

1350–1400; Middle English; dog, -rel; dog Latin

Word History and Origins

Origin of doggerel¹

C14 dogerel worthless, perhaps from dogge _dog

Example Sentences

For 15 years, he wrote a long-form narrative every three weeks for the New Yorker; he’s also written shorter reported pieces, comic sketches and doggerel for the Nation, Time and elsewhere.

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Some listeners heard a latter-day Ogden Nash in Mr. Osgood’s segments, though he told People magazine, “My stuff isn’t poetry — it’s just rampant doggerel.”

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Let John Denton’s doggerel stand in for all the great jottings that didn’t make it into “Dear California.”

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ChatGPT can turn out doggerel poetry or freshman and sophomore essays, pass tests on some technical subjects, write press releases, compile legal filings with a veneer of professionalism.

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Worse, he was capable of doggerel even dogs wouldn’t want to read:

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Related Words

• cadence 
• poem 
• poetry 
• rhythm 
• tune 
• verse