rhapsodic

adjective

rhap·​sod·​ic rap-ˈsä-dik How to pronounce rhapsodic (audio)
variants or less commonly rhapsodical
1
: extravagantly emotional : rapturous
2
: resembling or characteristic of a rhapsody
rhapsodically adverb

Example Sentences

the jingle used in the commercial is a humorously rhapsodic celebration of fast food
Recent Examples on the Web But this caricature of Fitzgerald as frivolous and unfailingly rhapsodic obscures the bracing acidity of his satire and the cool eye of his intelligence. Sarah Churchwell, The New York Review of Books, 8 Oct. 2020 Part of the magic of this work is its dual nature as a rhapsodic, virtuoso improvisation that yet manages to adhere to a sensible, perceptible structural layout. Luke Schulze, San Diego Union-Tribune, 8 May 2023 But the rhapsodic reception to Beef — the show, at least during the first week after its release, was already gaining early Emmys buzz — introduced Choe to a new and widespread audience. Rebecca Sun, The Hollywood Reporter, 18 Apr. 2023 The song reached new levels of mainstream fame through Anthony’s 1998 cover and a rhapsodic live performance at Madison Square Garden in 2004. Juan J. Arroyo, Rolling Stone, 12 Apr. 2023 TikTok is full of opinion videos about the fragrance (there are currently 197.5 million—and counting—video views for the hashtag), usually set to the kind of rhapsodic string music people use for showing off Carbone’s spicy rigatoni pasta or a Mykonos sunset—blissful, euphoric, enraptured. Kathleen Hou, ELLE, 5 Jan. 2023 Lest anyone worry that the Magic Mike series has nothing left to say, or nothing on its mind but glistening abs, the third and allegedly final installment begins with a voice over—British, proper, authoritative—waxing rhapsodic about the role dance has played across all of human history. A.a. Dowd, Chron, 7 Feb. 2023 The reviews were rhapsodic, unprecedently really. Thomas Doherty, The Hollywood Reporter, 13 Sep. 2022 That is, the cheers earned by Thibaudet’s substitute, Yuja Wang, who gave a fiery and rhapsodic account of the Liszt concerto, her playing by turns tightly coiled and lyrically expansive as the moment required, with Nelsons and the orchestra as attentive partners at every turn. Jeremy Eichler, BostonGlobe.com, 11 July 2022 See More

These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'rhapsodic.' 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

1782, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Time Traveler
The first known use of rhapsodic was in 1782

Dictionary Entries Near rhapsodic

Cite this Entry

“Rhapsodic.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/rhapsodic. Accessed 6 Jun. 2023.

Last Updated: - Updated example sentences
Love words? Need even more definitions?

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