belletristic

adjective

variants also belle-lettristic
Definition of belletristicnext
as in literary

Related Words

Relevance

Dissimilar Words

Example Sentences

Recent Examples of Synonyms for belletristic
  1. literary
  2. declamatory
  3. bombastic
  4. scholastic
  5. pompous
  6. grandiloquent
  7. florid
  8. stilted
Adjective
  • On Friday, Saturday and Sunday, 13 indie bookstores across the city and beyond are joining forces for an inaugural celebration of local literary culture.
    — Julius Miller, Los Angeles Times, 21 July 2026
  • Yet perhaps the real challenge to literary biography today is the account that does play to the gallery but uses fictional anecdotes.
    — Literary Hub, Literary Hub, 20 July 2026
Definition of literary
Adjective
  • These sound particularly good in Morgan’s mouth, with his non-actory, declamatory way of speaking.
    — Television Critic, Los Angeles Times, 23 Feb. 2026
  • The music is stark, declamatory, and ironic in its use of gentler major-key harmonies for some of the darkest lines.
    — Alex Ross, The New Yorker, 3 Feb. 2025
Definition of declamatory
Adjective
  • This bombastic rhetoric echoes an inherent feeling of frustration in Russia over the failure to segregate Ukraine from the West.
    — Ihor N. Stelmach, Hartford Courant, 19 July 2026
  • Some of these movies manage to hold viewers’ attention with bombastic action scenes that command focus on a big screen.
    — Isabel Fattal, The Atlantic, 18 July 2026
Definition of bombastic
Adjective
  • The Union’s move is a small reversal of a decades-long trend away from scholastic sports as a soccer development tool.
    — Sara Germano, Sportico.com, 19 June 2026
  • Her work — rooted in teaching, scholastic research and mentoring — is continually focused on advancing social, racial and economic equity in secondary education classrooms.
    — Larry D. Urish, Oc Register, 3 June 2026
Definition of scholastic
Adjective
  • Does little Arabella care about going to another stuffy awards dinner with her pompous dad?
    — David Ehrlich, IndieWire, 17 July 2026
  • Among them a City boy wearing three Fit-Bit-type devices, two beautiful Middle Eastern sisters, an outrageously pompous elderly American (sorry; eavesdropping), and several Imelda Marcos lookalikes, tottering out of the treatment rooms with, somehow, their elaborate hairstyles still intact.
    — Condé Nast, Condé Nast Traveler, 2 June 2026
Definition of pompous
Adjective
  • There was Coppola’s over-the-top defense of his friend with a grandiloquent gesture (Tanen declined to sell).
    — Michael O’Donnell, The Atlantic, 10 Feb. 2026
  • Reform—Within Reason Malthus aimed to puncture Godwin’s grandiloquent progressivism.
    — Roy Scranton, JSTOR Daily, 18 Sep. 2025
Definition of grandiloquent
Adjective
  • Indeed, the underwriters used some uncharacteristically florid language in lauding SpaceX’s prospects.
    — Shawn Tully, Fortune, 18 July 2026
  • But there’s a savvy 2026 vibe about the way the film refuses to create florid melodrama out of quotidian crisis, and instead observes with generosity as the characters grope awkwardly toward emotional détente and mutual forgiveness.
    — Leslie Felperin, HollywoodReporter, 8 July 2026
Definition of florid
Adjective
  • Staffers are unfailingly warm and helpful, while never seeming stiff or stilted.
    — Condé Nast, Condé Nast Traveler, 22 June 2026
  • Tensions between Rian and Patrick flare when Rian drunkenly mentions a brief fling with Shiv, though the film’s clunky edit, which gives little room for the performances to breathe and play out organically within their contexts, makes these frictions feel stilted and juvenile.
    — Beatrice Loayza, Variety, 22 May 2026
Definition of stilted
Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.

Browse Nearby Words

belletrist
belletristic
belletrists
See all Nearby Words

Cite this Entry

“Belletristic.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/belletristic. Accessed 23 Jul. 2026.

Copy Citation
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!

More from Merriam-Webster

Word of the Day

Listen to the pronunciation of maverick

See Definitions and Examples »

Popular in Grammar & Usage

See More

Democracy or Republic: What's the difference?

Merriam-Webster’s Great Big List of Words You Love to Hate

'A' or 'an'? What about before 'h'? An Indefinite Article Guide

Do you 'say your piece' or 'say your peace'?

Why is '-ed' sometimes pronounced at the end of a word?
See More

Popular in Wordplay

See More

It's a Scorcher! Words for the Summer Heat

The Longest Long Words List

Ten Words Ending with a Silent ‘T’

Why do we say 'fly off the handle'?

12 Lovely and Unusual Words for the Natural World
See More

Popular

See More

Democracy or Republic: What's the difference?

It's a Scorcher! Words for the Summer Heat

The Longest Long Words List
See More

Games & Quizzes

See All
Play Quordle: Guess all four words in a limited number of tries. Each of your guesses must be a real 5-letter word.
Quordle Can you solve 4 words at once?
Play Blossom: Solve today's spelling word game by finding as many words as you can using just 7 letters. Longer words score more points.
Blossom Pick the best words!
Play Missing Letter: a crossword with a twist. Each of the 25 puzzle words start with a different letter of the alphabet. Which letter is missing?
The Missing Letter A daily crossword with a twist
thumbnail graphic with text word of the day quiz
Weekly "Word of the Day" Quiz See how well you know each Word of the Day for Ju...
See All