clerihew

noun

Definition of clerihewnext
as in poem

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Example Sentences

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.
Recent Examples of clerihew Easy to write and fun to read, entrants were asked to write a clerihew that describes a famous scientist or other person, or event closely associated with fire. — William Gurstelle, WIRED, 16 Aug. 2011
Recent Examples of Synonyms for clerihew
  1. poem
  2. sonnet
  3. epigram
  4. limerick
  5. villanelle
  6. psalm
  7. ode
  8. elegy
Noun
  • The poem’s anguished meditations on love’s savagery and isolation are designed to draw blood.
    — Merve Emre, New Yorker, 21 Oct. 2026
  • His poems and books have been translated into Spanish, French, and Dutch.
    — Literary Hub, Literary Hub, 21 Oct. 2026
Definition of poem
Noun
  • People can and should be skeptical about the sonnets written about starting NFL quarterbacks every offseason, when no one is getting sacked and almost everyone looks good.
    — Scott Fowler, Charlotte Observer, 30 July 2026
  • The conventions ground the writing as meter and rhyme steady a sonnet.
    — Literary Hub, Literary Hub, 13 July 2026
Definition of sonnet
Noun
  • By greatly expanding the dimensions of his images, with their muted palettes, tight cropping, found symmetries, and laconic wit, had the maestro of the photographic epigram betrayed his subtractive aesthetic?
    — James Quandt, Artforum, 2 June 2026
  • Johnson is the author of the epigrams, but Boswell is very much the co-author.
    — David Frum, The Atlantic, 27 May 2026
Definition of epigram
Noun
  • The study picked 10 commercial large language models by top tech companies — including Meta, Anthropic and OpenAI — and asked the AI systems to make critical pamphlets, write limericks, give reasons if someone should join protests, and more.
    — Didi Tang, Fortune, 16 July 2026
  • He was also known for his haikus and limericks, including some written to summarize ethics.
    — Elliott Wenzler, Denver Post, 2 Apr. 2026
Definition of limerick
Noun
  • Not unlike the rules of the villanelle, which are here applied with less than perfect rigor.
    — New York Times, New York Times, 28 May 2026
  • From the sixteenth to the nineteenth century, villanelle was simply the French term for an Italian country song, and during the Renaissance, poets often used the title for their work regardless of a poem’s specific structure.
    — The Editors, JSTOR Daily, 19 Aug. 2025
Definition of villanelle
Noun
  • During a recent morning visit, large groups of Jewish worshippers circumambulated the holy site under close police guard, singing psalms at full volume and openly praying.
    — Ilan Ben Zion, Christian Science Monitor, 14 Oct. 2026
  • Psalm 23 is numbered Psalm 22 in the Greek Septuagint and Latin Vulgate because of differences in how the psalms are divided and numbered.
    — Frannie Comstock, Encyclopedia Britannica, 26 Aug. 2026
Definition of psalm
Noun
  • In fact, the Bears were handing out fake mustaches for fans to wear during the game – an ode to the most iconic facial hair in the city.
    — Scott Thompson OutKick, FOXNews.com, 23 Oct. 2026
  • The golden saffron panna cotta is an ode in dessert form to my favorite Italian region (and, in my opinion, beats zabaione), while a basil sorbet topping a raspberry mascarpone coupe was a palate cleanser to remember.
    — Condé Nast, Condé Nast Traveler, 22 Oct. 2026
Definition of ode
Noun
  • Her works are playful and often ironic, relentlessly experimental and not only genre-bending but form-bending, including Nox (New Directions, 2010), a box containing an accordioned elegy to her estranged brother after his death.
    — Emily Temple, Literary Hub, 8 Oct. 2026
  • Their books are therefore, in some respects, elegies to a conception of reading and writing which seems to be nearing an end.
    — Louis Menand, New Yorker, 21 Sep. 2026
Definition of elegy

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“Clerihew.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/clerihew. Accessed 27 Oct. 2026.

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