poetaster

[ poh-it-as-ter ]

noun

1. an inferior poet; a writer of indifferent verse.

   Synonyms: rhymester

poetaster

/ -ˈteɪ-; ˌpəʊɪˈtæstə /

noun

1. a writer of inferior verse

Other Words From

• poet·aster·ing poet·aster·y poet·astry poet·aster·ism noun
• poet·astric poet·astri·cal adjective

Word History and Origins

Origin of poetaster¹

1590–1600; < Medieval Latin or New Latin; poet, -aster ¹

Word History and Origins

Origin of poetaster¹

C16: from Medieval Latin; see poet , -aster

Example Sentences

Heti’s detractors could probably put a bottle in the middle of a table and entertain themselves reading lines out of context in suave, poetaster voices.

From New York Times

Key is captured in a heroic pose: enthroned on a big chair with pen in hand, looking every inch the sort of poetaster who would come up with lines like “O’er the ramparts we watched / Were so gallantly streaming.”

From Los Angeles Times

And he did have more lives, many; he once listed some of them: “I am a Schoolmaster — a Private Tutor, a Surveyor — a Gardener, a Farmer — a Painter, I mean a House Painter, a Carpenter, a Mason, a Day-Laborer, a Pencil-Maker, a Writer, and sometimes a Poetaster.”

From New York Times

In 2018, can Brancusi still release our inner poetaster?

From New York Times

When the successful lawyer and amateur poetaster Francis Scott Key wrote the words to the anthem, he was an appointed negotiator for political prisoners in the War of 1812.

From Slate