literary

[lit-uh-rer-ee]

adjective

1. pertaining to or of the nature of books and writings, especially those classed as literature.

   literary history.

2. pertaining to authorship.

   literary style.

3. versed in or acquainted with literature; well-read.

4. engaged in or having the profession of literature or writing.

   a literary man.

5. characterized by an excessive or affected display of learning; stilted; pedantic.

6. preferring books to actual experience; bookish.

literary

/ ˈlɪtrərɪ, ˈlɪtərərɪ /

adjective

1. of, relating to, concerned with, or characteristic of literature or scholarly writing

   a literary discussion

   a literary style

2. versed in or knowledgeable about literature

   a literary man

3. (of a word) formal; not colloquial

Usage

In this dictionary, the label Literary is assigned to an entry term or definition that is used rarely in contemporary speech or writing except to create a literary, poetic, or evocative effect.

Other Word Forms

• literariness noun
• literarily adverb
• nonliterarily adverb
• nonliterarilyness noun
• nonliterariness noun
• nonliterary adjective
• overliterarily adverb
• overliterariness noun
• overliterary adjective
• preliterary adjective
• pseudoliterary adjective
• quasi-literary adjective
• unliterary adjective

Word History and Origins

Origin of literary¹

1640–50; < Latin līterārius, litterārius of reading and writing. See letter ¹, -ary

Word History and Origins

Origin of literary¹

C17: from Latin litterārius concerning reading and writing. See _letter

Example Sentences

Ms. King seeds her love story with engaging dialogue and literary references that are never pretentious or gratuitous.

Read more on Wall Street Journal

She started to think about it properly about 10 years ago when she working on the one-off BBC drama To Walk Invisible, about the lives and literary achievements of the Brontë sisters.

Read more on BBC

The final product is the literary equivalent of a multicourse meal in a German restaurant—you’re left satiated, but not entirely satisfied, and may feel some indigestion.

Read more on Wall Street Journal

If I were guessing I would think she edited literary novels or was a professor of French poetry.

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He sent off the finished manuscript to 25 literary agents.

Read more on Los Angeles Times

Related Words

• classical 
• scholarly