lyric
(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.
pertaining to or writing lyric poetry: a lyric poet.
characterized by or expressing spontaneous, direct feeling: a lyric song; lyric writing.
pertaining to, rendered by, or employing singing.
(of a voice) relatively light of volume and modest in range: a lyric soprano.
pertaining, adapted, or sung to the lyre, or composing poems to be sung to the lyre: ancient Greek lyric odes.
a lyric poem.
Often lyrics. the words of a song.
Origin of lyric
1Other words from lyric
- 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
Words Nearby lyric
Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
How to use lyric in a sentence
Someone to finish Patsy Cline lyrics when I’m singing terribly.
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.
Spotify confirms it’s (finally) testing a lyrics feature in the U.S. | Sarah Perez | February 9, 2021 | TechCrunchThere’s power in the melodies, power in those notes, power in those lyrics.
Motown President Ethiopia Habtemariam on Steering the Legendary Label Through the Pandemic | Eben Shapiro | February 7, 2021 | TimeIt speaks about where one is from—through rap lyrics, DJing, graffiti, or breakdancing—by incorporating local slang, references, neighborhood tales, sounds, and styles.
Contemporary hip hop embodies a dynamic Pan Africanism | Msia Kibona Clark | February 3, 2021 | QuartzSo, 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.
Video games deserve better than blanket, parachute coverage from reporters who don’t get it | Gene Park | January 27, 2021 | 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?
Yoncé Said Knock You Out: The Solange and Jay Z Story | Kevin O’Keeffe | December 29, 2014 | THE DAILY BEASTGeorge would take out his lyric book and acoustic guitar and play us the song we would be working on that day.
When Gary Wright Met George Harrison: Dream Weaver, John and Yoko, and More | Gary Wright | September 29, 2014 | THE DAILY BEASTInstead, we had Spears begging for male attention with the provocative lyric, “Hit me baby, one more time.”
Beyoncé Is Our Indigo Girl: The Halcyon '90s and Feminism's Resurgence in Pop Music | Amanda Marcotte | August 26, 2014 | THE DAILY BEASTEver the showman, he asks if he can play the tape forward, sing the lyric once, play that “backmasked stuff,” then sing that.
Tragic, lyric, ironic, dramatic, realistic, surrealistic—a sure winner.
This 1979 Novel Predicted Putin’s Invasion Of Crimea | Michael Weiss | May 18, 2014 | THE DAILY BEASTWith a prickly heat suffusing my whole body and a melting sensation at the collar I struggled through the wretched lyric once.
True hymns are sacred lyrics, and a lyric to be lyrical and heart appealing, must be inevitable.
Hymns from the East | John BrownlieHenrietta Sontag, one of first lyric artists of the day, died at Mexico, aged about 50.
The Every Day Book of History and Chronology | Joel MunsellJinny's pages looked like a wild, straggling lyric, flung off in a rapture and meticulously revised.
The Creators | May SinclairAnacreon, the lyric poet, was his contemporary, and all his poetry abounds with the praises of Polycrates.
British Dictionary definitions for lyric
/ (ˈlɪrɪk) /
(of poetry)
expressing the writer's personal feelings and thoughts
having the form and manner of a song
of or relating to such poetry
(of music) having songlike qualities
(of a singing voice) having a light quality and tone
intended for singing, esp (in classical Greece) to the accompaniment of the lyre
a short poem of songlike quality
(plural) the words of a popular song
Origin of lyric
1- Also (for senses 1–4): lyrical
Derived forms of lyric
- lyrically, adverb
- lyricalness, noun
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
Cultural definitions for lyric
The New Dictionary of Cultural Literacy, Third Edition Copyright © 2005 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.
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