lyricism

noun

lyr·​i·​cism ˈlir-ə-ˌsi-zəm 

1

: the quality or state of being lyric : songfulness

The important part of his anthology 100 Modern Poems is the foreign verse, showing the French influence on our symbolism, the Celtic influence (Yeats, Dylan Thomas) on our lyricism.

—Peter Viereck

2

a

: an intense personal quality expressive of feeling or emotion in an art (such as poetry or music)

… a muse that brought out the lyricism in innumerable writers.

—Erich Segal

b

: exuberance

[Thomas] Wolfe is the sort of author who inspires lyricism or invective, not judicious interpretation.

—Time

3

: the words of a song : lyrics

witty lyricism

Despite her spitfire raps and devil-may-care persona, Lee's lyricism is surprisingly sensitive, proving the rapper to be wise beyond her years.

—Gladys Yeo

Renaissance, Beyoncé's seventh album, was a seductive club banger with heady lyricism and deep tributes to the queer community.

—CT Jones

Examples of lyricism in a Sentence

the lyricism of his paintings

Recent Examples on the Web

In the video, Fogelmanis appears as Gray's love interest as the pair go from friends to lovers onscreen, on par with the song's yearning lyricism. —Madison E. Goldberg, PEOPLE, 30 Oct. 2025

Inspired by filmmakers like Apichatpong Weerasethakul and Terrence Malick (who Joseph worked for early in his career), Joseph prefers to use sound and music to evoke lyricism and complexity rather than rely on a traditional narrative. —Chris O'Falt, IndieWire, 30 Oct. 2025

And Dacus, with slow-burning lyricism and diary-fragment songwriting, constructs entire emotional geographies connected by faith, heartbreak, memory, and grief. —Gerrick Kennedy, Rolling Stone, 20 Oct. 2025

The lyricism of Clifford Brown. —Shelby Stewart, Essence, 12 Oct. 2025

Word History

First Known Use

1760, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Rhymes for lyricism

• autism
• fascism
• racism
• sikhism
• statism
• sufism
• thomism
• tourism
• tropism
• abolitionism
• aldosteronism
• americanism