BELLETRISTIC Synonyms: 41 Similar and Opposite Words

belletristic

adjective

variants also belle-lettristic

Definition of belletristic

as in literary

Related Words

Relevance

Dissimilar Words

Example Sentences

Recent Examples of Synonyms for belletristic

Adjective

For Finite, Nuclear Children joins a slate comprising original series and adaptations of plays, operas and literary texts.

— Jesse Whittock, Deadline, 26 Aug. 2026
In a pedagogical culture that tends to shy away from unpleasantness, Goodwin’s approach felt like an honest — and valuable — way of dealing with one of the ugliest aspects of American literary history.

— Helen I. Bennett, Hartford Courant, 25 Aug. 2026

Definition of literary

Adjective

Indeed, the narrator is resigned to death—if not the declamatory death of her friend in the lecture hall, at least the fact of death happening elsewhere, on the global stage.

— Maya Binyam, New Yorker, 12 Aug. 2026
These sound particularly good in Morgan’s mouth, with his non-actory, declamatory way of speaking.

— Television Critic, Los Angeles Times, 23 Feb. 2026

Definition of declamatory

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

His most acute scorn was reserved for my then-colleague, Alan Abelson, the longtime lead columnist and former Barron’s editor known for his florid, literate and persistent bearishness.

— Michael Santoli, CNBC, 24 Aug. 2026
Ford, even more than Antonioni, renders characters’ social context both intellectually and dramatically explicit by way of extensive, florid, candid, confrontational dialogue.

— Richard Brody, New Yorker, 19 Aug. 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

Style

“Belletristic.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/belletristic. Accessed 1 Sep. 2026.

Copy Citation

Synonyms of belletristic

adjective

Example Sentences

Browse Nearby Words

Cite this Entry

More from Merriam-Webster

Word of the Day

conscientious

Popular in Grammar & Usage

A Who’s Who Regarding ‘Who’s’ and ‘Whose’

Is it 'nerve-racking' or 'nerve-wracking'?

What's the difference between 'fascism' and 'socialism'?

Why does English have so many silent letters?

7 Pairs of Commonly Confused Words

Popular in Wordplay

Ye Olde Nincompoop: Old-Fashioned Words for 'Stupid'

14 Phobias You Probably Haven't Heard Of

Even More Words That Sound Like Insults But Aren't

Even More Bird Names that Sound Like Insults (and Sometimes Are)

12 Lovely and Unusual Words for the Natural World

Popular

A Who’s Who Regarding ‘Who’s’ and ‘Whose’

Ye Olde Nincompoop: Old-Fashioned Words for 'Stupid'

14 Phobias You Probably Haven't Heard Of

Games & Quizzes