lyric

American  

[lir-ik] / ˈlɪr ɪk /

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.

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noun

• lyrics
  plural

1. a lyric poem.

2. Often lyrics. the words of a song.

lyric British  

/ ˈlɪrɪk /

adjective

1. 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

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noun

1. a short poem of songlike quality

2. (plural) the words of a popular song

lyric Cultural  

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.

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Other Word Forms

Derived Forms

• lyricalness
  noun
• nonlyricalness
  noun
• unlyricalness
  noun
• nonlyric
  adjective
• nonlyrical
  adjective
• semilyric
  adjective
• semilyrical
  adjective
• unlyric
  adjective
• unlyrical
  adjective
• lyrically
  adverb
• nonlyrically
  adverb
• semilyrically
  adverb
• unlyrically
  adverb

Inflected Forms

Nouns

• lyrics
  plural

Etymology

Origin of lyric

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

Explanation

The word lyric claims its emotional place in music and poetry, with the words to a song being called the lyrics, while a lyric poem is one steeped in personal emotions, making it song-like. As with many artistic terms, the word lyric derives from the Greek, specifically from lyrikós, meaning "singing to the lyre," and today’s meanings are also rooted in the idea of music. The lyric poem was first seen in the late 16th Century, while the reference to a song’s words as lyrics appeared in 1876. If every one of your poems starts with the word "I," you might be a lyric poet.

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

lyric lyrics

Great lyric poems chart experience, bringing us through a process of thought or feeling that moves and goes somewhere.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 2, 2026

That prompted the lyric, "She's from Texas, I can tell."

From BBC ● Sep. 22, 2026

The singer is already remembering the present before it has ended, the lyric moving backward and forward in time.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 18, 2026

Give your brain a workout: What’s an 11-letter “Enya hit with the repeated lyric ‘Sail away, sail away, sail away’ ”?

From Slate ● Sep. 15, 2026

But Lord Bolton smiled at die lyric and Ramsay laughed aloud.

From "A Dance with Dragons" by George R. R. Martin

In addition to reading some of their text exchanges, she also explained the lyrics line by line from an AI-generated song.

From BBC ● Sep. 29, 2026

Mr. Young’s compositions come out ahead, and the band’s sound throughout is compelling, more so than some of the song topics and lyrics.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 29, 2026

The composition’s primitive lyrics seem to place its genesis much earlier, likely around the time of “With The Beatles” or “A Hard Day’s Night.”

From Salon ● Sep. 28, 2026

But as soon as he finishes a chord progression or polishes his lyrics, he has to actively fight the generational urge to share it with the world immediately.

From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 21, 2026

We cheered and jumped and sang “I’m Going Back to Indiana,” messing up the song lyrics to announce that we were going to New York City to see the Jackson Five at Madison Square Garden.

From "P.S. Be Eleven" by Rita Williams-Garcia