torch song

noun

Updated on: 10 Apr 2018

Definition of torch song

: a popular sentimental song of unrequited love

See torch song defined for English-language learners

Recent Examples of torch song from the Web

The arrangements vary, from ambient electronica and Appalachian Gothic to contemporary torch song and bluegrass gospel, with scarcely a hint of Cash’s trademark freight-train rhythms.

— bill friskics-warren, New York Times, "Johnny Cash’s Poems Get a Second Life as Songs," 3 Apr. 2018
Featuring a quintet of sizzling performers, conductor Harry Mayronne Jr. and directors Victoria Reed and Heidi Malnar captured the rollicking spirit of Waller through high-strutting numbers to the most soulful torch songs.

— NOLA.com, "Here are the top 10 musicals on New Orleans stages in 2017," 28 Dec. 2017
The title track, written by Rose Cousins as a torch song, is rendered here as a plea for collective ablution.

— giovanni russonello, New York Times, "Lizz Wright’s ‘Grace,’ an Ode to the South and to Forgiveness," 8 Sep. 2017

These example sentences are selected automatically from various online news sources to reflect current usage of the word 'torch song.' Views expressed in the examples do not represent the opinion of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.