poetic license

noun

: license sense 4

… the start of Noah's Ark … states, "For dramatic effect, we have taken poetic license with some of the events of the mighty epic of Noah and the Flood."

—Ken Tucker

Examples of poetic license in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web

Such poetic license offers little new insight into a topic that has already been picked over for two decades, but it might be forgiven were Hansen as easily dramatized as he is made fun of. — Matt Brennan, Los Angeles Times, 5 Sep. 2026

In Darkest Hour, for which Gary Oldman won a Best Actor Oscar for his portrayal of wartime leader Winston Churchill, the great statesman is seen riding on the London Underground — a bit of poetic license. — Baz Bamigboye, Deadline, 2 Sep. 2026

There’s a winged Statue of Liberty, but that’s just poetic license. — Pat Beall, Sun Sentinel, 24 Apr. 2026

Still, our Judaism—if that’s the word for it—affirmed idiosyncrasy, worldliness, dignity, science, exegesis, law, property, gradualism, poetic license, peace, freedom, memory, and humor. — Jordan Castro, Harper's Magazine, 9 Jan. 2024

Word History

First Known Use

1819, in the meaning defined above

Rhymes for poetic license

• concupiscence
• licence