poetical

adjective

po·​et·​i·​cal pō-ˈe-ti-kəl How to pronounce poetical (audio)
1
: poetic
2
: being beyond or above the truth of history or nature : idealized
had poetical ideas about love
poetically adverb
poeticalness noun

Examples of poetical in a Sentence

love letters that were filled with poetical phrases
Recent Examples on the Web After all these years, your name still lights a flame in the poetical mind — to set those two syllables to rhyme, to music, to anything! Tom Gliatto, Peoplemag, 10 Jan. 2024 And Davies’ approach has always been more poetical than technical. Robert Lloyd, Los Angeles Times, 22 Dec. 2023 The Wingfield family’s repressions are bound to boil over, but they are lulled into stasis by Williams’ poetical eloquence. David L. Coddon, San Diego Union-Tribune, 11 Dec. 2023 James Connolly once said that no revolutionary movement is complete without its poetical expression. Jessica Nicholson, Billboard, 21 Mar. 2023 Full of comic scenes, the novel was in marked contrast to the spare poetical prose of Ms. Pineda’s earlier novels. New York Times, 17 Aug. 2022 The detailing of this superlative and at times poetical couture — which sparkled throughout with brocade, paillettes, sequins and gleaming silks — spoke for itself. Thomas Adamson, ajc, 24 Jan. 2023 African American communities, as well as the melancholy poetical drift of his cinematic style. Dennis Harvey, Variety, 22 Jan. 2023 But inspiration that even another artist can hear, and a painter can listen to and paint his greatest painting because of the poetical words that’s passing through his mind. Washington Post, 5 Apr. 2022

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

Word History

First Known Use

15th century, in the meaning defined at sense 1

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

Dictionary Entries Near poetical

Cite this Entry

“Poetical.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/poetical. Accessed 19 Mar. 2024.

More from Merriam-Webster on poetical

Love words? Need even more definitions?

Subscribe to America's largest dictionary and get thousands more definitions and advanced search—ad free!