doggerel

1 of 2

adjective

dog·​ger·​el ˈdȯ-g(ə-)rəl How to pronounce doggerel (audio)
ˈdä-
: loosely styled and irregular in measure especially for burlesque or comic effect
also : marked by triviality or inferiority

doggerel

2 of 2

noun

: doggerel verse

Examples of doggerel in a Sentence

Noun a few lines of doggerel
Recent Examples on the Web
Noun
Top Stories Joel Edgerton plays Narvel Roth, the film’s narrator, an autodidact who writes doggerel in his private journal, while Schrader shows scenes of him posing as head groundskeeper of Gatewood Gardens. Armond White, National Review, 24 May 2023 Van de Venne made dozens of illustrations for Cats, who set them beside his doggerel poetry. Hari Kunzru, Harper’s Magazine , 4 Jan. 2022 His inventiveness suited the extraordinary reach of this devotee of both high diction and low doggerel. Brad Leithauser, WSJ, 12 Aug. 2022 The story, written in a doggerel stuffed with show-biz references (Darryl F. Zanuck! Rachel Syme, The New Yorker, 25 June 2019 Lee’s most memorable speech bubbles totter on the edge between speech, poetry, and outright doggerel. Noah Berlatsky, The Verge, 13 Nov. 2018 This week in Washington, the ugly doggerel of the present was voiced in angry and tendentious tweets from the White House. Ishaan Tharoor, Washington Post, 25 June 2018 So good they can be called a sacred blessing (With celery, of course, and blue cheese dressing) This augural doggerel — called On Buffalo’s Losing the Super Bowl — ran in The Nation after the Bills lost that fourth one following the 1993 season. Erik Brady, USA TODAY, 31 Oct. 2017 Eacker’s poetry explores not only relatable subjects such as gardening, nature, sports, love, aging and life, but also the process of writing doggerel (bad verse). idahostatesman, 28 July 2017

These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'doggerel.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.

Word History

Etymology

Adjective

Middle English dogerel, probably diminutive of dogge dog

First Known Use

Adjective

15th century, in the meaning defined above

Noun

1630, in the meaning defined above

Time Traveler
The first known use of doggerel was in the 15th century

Dictionary Entries Near doggerel

Cite this Entry

“Doggerel.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/doggerel. Accessed 28 Mar. 2024.

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