free verse
verse that does not follow a fixed metrical pattern.
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Origin of free verse
1Other words from free verse
- free-ver·si·fi·er [free-vur-suh-fahy-er], /ˈfriˈvɜr səˌfaɪ ər/, noun
Words Nearby free verse
Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2024
How to use free verse in a sentence
In fact, you can send me any type of poem — even doggerel or free verse — as long as it is no more than 17 lines long.
I’ve waited 17 years to write about periodical cicadas again. The wait is over. | John Kelly | May 12, 2021 | Washington Postfree verse is a sign of the New, also the dream of a free world and the planetary patriotism.
The Hive | Will Levington ComfortAny one who has ever written love-letters—which are a kind of aboriginal free-verse—knows what they are.
Colors of Life | Max EastmanThere seems to be a certain confusion whereby free verse is held to be a movement in the direction of free speech.
Pieces of Hate | Heywood BrounThe objection to most of the “free verse” that is being written to-day is that in form it is neither delightful nor memorable.
The Art of Letters | Robert Lynd
"The Toys" of Coventry Patmore is a good example of what "free verse" ought to be.
Confessions of a Book-Lover | Maurice Francis Egan
British Dictionary definitions for free verse
unrhymed verse without a metrical pattern
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 free verse
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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