literary

[ lit-uh-rer-ee ]

/ ˈlɪt əˌrɛr i /

SEE MORE SYNONYMS FOR literary ON THESAURUS.COM

adjective

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

pertaining to authorship: literary style.

versed in or acquainted with literature; well-read.

engaged in or having the profession of literature or writing: a literary man.

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

preferring books to actual experience; bookish.

Nearby words

literalism, literalist, literality, literalize, literally, literary, literary agent, literary executor, literate, literately, literati

Origin of literary

1640–50; < Latin līterārius, litterārius of reading and writing. See letter¹, -ary

Related forms

lit·er·ar·i·ly, adverblit·er·ar·i·ness, nounnon·lit·er·ar·i·ly, adverbnon·lit·er·ar·i·ly·ness, noun

non·lit·er·ar·i·ness, nounnon·lit·er·ar·y, adjectiveo·ver·lit·er·ar·i·ly, adverbo·ver·lit·er·ar·i·ness, nouno·ver·lit·er·ar·y, adjectivepre·lit·er·ar·y, adjectivepseu·do·lit·er·ar·y, adjectivequa·si-lit·er·ar·y, adjectiveun·lit·er·ar·y, adjective

Usage note

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.

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2019

Examples from the Web for literary

From this attitude he draws a singular comic and literary power.
Houellebecq’s Incendiary Novel Imagines France With a Muslim President|Pierre Assouline|January 9, 2015|DAILY BEAST
Lacey Noonan's A Gronking to Remember makes 50 Shades of Grey look like Madame Bovary in terms of its literary sophistication.
‘A Gronking to Remember’ Speed Read: 8 Naughtiest Bits|Emily Shire|January 7, 2015|DAILY BEAST
The goal is to create a literary anatomy of the last century—or, to be precise, from 1900 to 2014.
The 2014 Novel of the Year|Nathaniel Rich|December 29, 2014|DAILY BEAST
To reclaim it, he had to move beyond established conventions about how a literary career should be conducted.
A Year In The Life of The Canterbury Tales’ Storied Beginnings|Wendy Smith|December 25, 2014|DAILY BEAST

A new book from Mallory Ortberg imagines what literary legends including King Lear and Jane Eyre would have texted.
What Would Jane Eyre Sext?|Jennie Yabroff|December 23, 2014|DAILY BEAST
His animal stories are marvels of sympathetic science and literary exactness.
Asa Holmes|Annie Fellows Johnston
This landslide of generosities overwhelmed one of her literary domestics.
Christian Science|Mark Twain (Samuel Clemens)
The author was the most delightful and entertaining of literary men of our time, Mr. James Payn.
The Confessions of a Caricaturist, Vol. 1 (of 2)|Harry Furniss
The literary matter that appeared under this title most readers accepted as veracious though anonymous autobiography.
The Life and Letters of Walter H. Page, Volume I|Burton J. Hendrick
She laid no claim to the title of a Blue—she had not the most remote idea of being considered a literary lady.
Mark Hurdlestone|Susanna Moodie

British Dictionary definitions for literary

literary

/ (ˈlɪtərərɪ, ˈlɪtrərɪ) /

adjective

of, relating to, concerned with, or characteristic of literature or scholarly writinga literary discussion; a literary style

versed in or knowledgeable about literaturea literary man

(of a word) formal; not colloquial

Derived Formsliterarily, adverbliterariness, noun

Word Origin for literary

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

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

Word Origin and History for literary

literary

adj.

1640s, "pertaining to alphabet letters," from French littéraire, from Latin literarius/litterarius "belonging to letters or learning," from littera/litera "letter" (see letter (n.1)). Meaning "pertaining to literature" is attested from 1737.

literary

adjective

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Nearby words

Origin of literary

Usage note

Examples from the Web for literary

British Dictionary definitions for literary

literary

adjective

Word Origin for literary

Word Origin and History for literary

literary