unpoetic
adjective
un·po·et·ic
ˌən-pō-ˈe-tik 
: not poetic
unpoetic writing
an unpoetic writer
… a nervous, sensitive, high-strung nature, cast unduly upon a cold, calculating, and unpoetic world.—
Theodore Dreiser
Theodore DreiserExamples of unpoetic in a Sentence
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This was an obtuse and unpoetic diktat, a showy way to miss the fact that a song’s history—its use over time, by real people, inspired by the exigencies of ritual and action—can inform its meaning more than its mere lyrics ever could.
—Vinson Cunningham, The New Yorker, 15 July 2022
Atlanta and its suburbs are a surprisingly Whitmanesque experiment in pluralism, in which unpoetic concrete strip malls substitute for lyrical spears of summer grass.
—Sanjena Sathian, Los Angeles Times, 18 Mar. 2021
For those who thought of the lyric poem as a reprieve from the humming external world, a chance to wrestle with internal contradictions, Rich’s overt politics felt unlovely, even unpoetic.
—Maggie Doherty, The New Yorker, 23 Nov. 2020
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Vinson Cunningham, The New Yorker, 15 July 2022
Atlanta and its suburbs are a surprisingly Whitmanesque experiment in pluralism, in which unpoetic concrete strip malls substitute for lyrical spears of summer grass.
—Sanjena Sathian, Los Angeles Times, 18 Mar. 2021
For those who thought of the lyric poem as a reprieve from the humming external world, a chance to wrestle with internal contradictions, Rich’s overt politics felt unlovely, even unpoetic.
—Maggie Doherty, The New Yorker, 23 Nov. 2020
Cite this Entry
“Unpoetic.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/unpoetic. Accessed 2 Jul. 2025.
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