literary
Americanadjective
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pertaining to or of the nature of books and writings, especially those classed as literature.
literary history.
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pertaining to authorship.
literary style.
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versed in or acquainted with literature; well-read.
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engaged in or having the profession of literature or writing.
a literary man.
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characterized by an excessive or affected display of learning; stilted; pedantic.
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preferring books to actual experience; bookish.
adjective
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of, relating to, concerned with, or characteristic of literature or scholarly writing
a literary discussion
a literary style
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versed in or knowledgeable about literature
a literary man
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(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
- literarily adverb
- literariness noun
- nonliterarily adverb
- nonliterarilyness noun
- nonliterariness noun
- nonliterary adjective
- overliterarily adverb
- overliterariness noun
- overliterary adjective
- preliterary adjective
- pseudoliterary adjective
- quasi-literary adjective
- unliterary adjective
Etymology
Origin of literary
1640–50; < Latin līterārius, litterārius of reading and writing. See letter 1, -ary
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.
"GOAT" moved ahead of steamy literary adaptation "Wuthering Heights," which earned $14.2 million in its second week of release, according to Exhibitor Relations.
From Barron's
There is no better literary biographer now writing than Richard Holmes.
Sayers praised the art underlying the artifice, paraphrasing Aristotle on the practice of literary deception.
The letters also contain a group of housekeeper's notes from Greenway cottage, including various contact details for her literary agent, doctor, builder, solicitor and others.
From BBC
From “James” to “Demon Copperhead,” literary retellings are having a moment.
From Los Angeles Times
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.
