lyric

[ lir-ik ]

adjective

1. (of poetry) having the form and musical quality of a song, and especially the character of a songlike outpouring of the poet's own thoughts and feelings, as distinguished from epic and dramatic poetry.
2. pertaining to or writing lyric poetry:

   a lyric poet.

3. characterized by or expressing spontaneous, direct feeling:

   a lyric song; lyric writing.

4. pertaining to, rendered by, or employing singing.
5. (of a voice) relatively light of volume and modest in range:

   a lyric soprano.

6. pertaining, adapted, or sung to the lyre, or composing poems to be sung to the lyre:

   ancient Greek lyric odes.

noun

1. a lyric poem.
2. Often lyrics. the words of a song.

lyric

/ ˈlɪrɪk /

adjective

1. of poetry
   1. expressing the writer's personal feelings and thoughts
   2. having the form and manner of a song
2. of or relating to such poetry
3. (of music) having songlike qualities
4. (of a singing voice) having a light quality and tone
5. intended for singing, esp (in classical Greece) to the accompaniment of the lyre

noun

1. a short poem of songlike quality
2. plural the words of a popular song

lyric

1. A kind of poetry, generally short, characterized by a musical use of language. Lyric poetry often involves the expression of intense personal emotion. The elegy , the ode , and the sonnet are forms of the lyric poem.

Derived Forms

• ˈlyrically, adverb
• ˈlyricalness, noun

Other Words From

• lyri·cal·ly adverb
• lyri·cal·ness noun
• non·lyric adjective
• non·lyri·cal adjective
• non·lyri·cal·ly adverb
• non·lyri·cal·ness noun
• semi·lyric adjective
• semi·lyri·cal adjective
• semi·lyri·cal·ly adverb
• un·lyric adjective
• un·lyri·cal adjective
• un·lyri·cal·ly adverb
• un·lyri·cal·ness noun

Word History and Origins

Origin of lyric¹

1575–85; < Latin lyricus < Greek lyrikós. See lyre, -ic

Word History and Origins

Origin of lyric¹

C16: from Latin lyricus, from Greek lurikos, from lura lyre

Example Sentences

Someone to finish Patsy Cline lyrics when I’m singing terribly.

From Washington Blade

Meanwhile, the updated version of Apple Music that rolled out with iOS 12 in 2018 included a way to search by lyrics, instead of just artist, album or song title.

From TechCrunch

There’s power in the melodies, power in those notes, power in those lyrics.

From Time

It speaks about where one is from—through rap lyrics, DJing, graffiti, or breakdancing—by incorporating local slang, references, neighborhood tales, sounds, and styles.

From Quartz

So, imagine sending a health reporter to cover the impact of listening to certain rap lyrics over and over again, all while not understanding the context of the lyrics, where they come from, or what they’re saying.

From Washington Post

Is there any better Beyoncé lyric to use in response to the most shocking celebrity tape this side of One Night in Paris?

From The Daily Beast

George would take out his lyric book and acoustic guitar and play us the song we would be working on that day.

From The Daily Beast

Instead, we had Spears begging for male attention with the provocative lyric, “Hit me baby, one more time.”

From The Daily Beast

Ever the showman, he asks if he can play the tape forward, sing the lyric once, play that “backmasked stuff,” then sing that.

From The Daily Beast

Tragic, lyric, ironic, dramatic, realistic, surrealistic—a sure winner.

From The Daily Beast

With a prickly heat suffusing my whole body and a melting sensation at the collar I struggled through the wretched lyric once.

From Project Gutenberg

True hymns are sacred lyrics, and a lyric to be lyrical and heart appealing, must be inevitable.

From Project Gutenberg

Henrietta Sontag, one of first lyric artists of the day, died at Mexico, aged about 50.

From Project Gutenberg

Jinny's pages looked like a wild, straggling lyric, flung off in a rapture and meticulously revised.

From Project Gutenberg

Anacreon, the lyric poet, was his contemporary, and all his poetry abounds with the praises of Polycrates.

From Project Gutenberg