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

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Etymology

Origin of lyric

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

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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

The lyric soprano Katarzyna Wietrzny sings her in an arch scene played for laughs where something more grotesque seems called for.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 20, 2026

“These Days” comes next in the track listing, with the beautiful lyric: We are young despite the years/ we are old despite the times.

From Salon ● Oct. 7, 2026

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

From BBC ● Sep. 22, 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

A single name was the only lyric to the song in my brain.

From "October Sky" by Homer Hickam

Last fall, the 34-year-old released Lux, a knotty, baroque album recorded with the London Symphony Orchestra that contains lyrics in more than a dozen languages.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 19, 2026

“Lorca’s words inspired me to write the lyrics and try to describe the impossibility of all those loves and stories.”

From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 15, 2026

His lyrics reference life in parts of the city, avoiding jail and being a product of your environment.

From BBC ● Oct. 15, 2026

“Hey Siri, play that song Eric texted me about” prompted the assistant to sift through messages to find the requested track, then play the Bad Bunny song with lyrics highlighted on screen.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 13, 2026

But when Anat began to sing, it was neither the familiar English lyrics that came out of Anat’s mouth nor even the Hebrew Molly knew she could do, but perfect Yiddish.

From "Night Owls" by A.R. Vishny

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