free verse

noun

Definition of free versenext
as in poetry
verse that does not rhyme and does not have a regular rhythm The author's free verse has a unique rhythmic intensity.

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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 free verse The history of art reads here as one long, free verse poem-in-progress, gorgeous and absorbing. — Los Angeles Times, 22 Apr. 2026 Told in a first-person, free verse style, her struggle to overcome a family tragedy, an ecological catastrophe, and the Great Depression is harrowing yet hopeful. — Libby Monteith Minor, Southern Living, 28 Feb. 2026 Though most of Milosz’s poetry was written in free verse, no effort has been made to force the English versions into the complicated poetic forms the poet sometimes preferred — that would have required a different sense of obligation. — William Logan, New York Times, 11 Apr. 2025 The award-winning work, told through a mix of free verse and haiku, offers a poignant and nuanced look at a young person growing up Black in the nineteen-sixties and seventies, finding herself through the art of writing. — The New Yorker, 13 Sep. 2024 See All Example Sentences for free verse
Recent Examples of Synonyms for free verse
  1. poetry
  2. poem
  3. lyric
  4. blank verse
  5. rhyme
  6. song
Noun
  • There are novels that are all just poetry and emotion and themes, in which nothing happens.
    — Max Gao, Variety, 4 Oct. 2026
  • The shop carries a small but curated selection from around the world focusing on topics like art, design, theory, hybrid works, fiction and poetry.
    — Noelle Alviz-Gransee, Kansas City Star, 2 Oct. 2026
Definition of poetry
Noun
  • Her father had been dead for five years when, at 13, Plath wrote a poem about the death of another adult in her life, her beloved teacher, Miss Cox.
    — Literary Hub, Literary Hub, 7 Oct. 2026
  • Livia’s sister-in-law invokes the poem when Livia learns, to her surprise, that her manipulative, abusive mother had been a frustrated musician.
    — Sam Worley, Vulture, 5 Oct. 2026
Definition of poem
Noun
  • Furnari recalled that some of the song’s early music and lyrics came together quickly, but writing words that could do justice to their experience was another matter.
    — Jessica Lynch, Billboard, 4 Oct. 2026
  • In a place filled with people confronting the challenge of rebuilding their lives, the lyrics of one particular song were a reverie.
    — Steve Lopez, Los Angeles Times, 3 Oct. 2026
Definition of lyric
Noun
  • The piece has the pattern of blank verse.
    — Ray Mark Rinaldi, Denver Post, 27 Oct. 2025
  • But Kantor wrote it in blank verse — little help for the script.
    — Peter Bart, Deadline, 24 Apr. 2025
Definition of blank verse
Noun
  • Closets Without a Purpose Garcia’s definition of a closet without purpose is a space where belongings have piled up without rhyme, reason, or a clear system to help organize whatever is inside.
    — Jamie Cuccinelli, Martha Stewart, 15 Sep. 2026
  • Galtié also pointed out that the garden sits steps from the Vanderbilt Gate, a fitting historical rhyme given the family’s ties to Boucheron.
    — Thomas Waller, Footwear News, 10 Sep. 2026
Definition of rhyme
Noun
  • During the themed show, the dancers performed to many of Carey’s songs from over the years.
    — Emily Zemler, Rolling Stone, 7 Oct. 2026
  • Thriller was expansive in sound, but its magic was rendered over just nine songs.
    — Molly Mary O’Brien, Pitchfork, 7 Oct. 2026
Definition of song

Browse Nearby Words

free trade
free verse
free verses
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Cite this Entry

“Free verse.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/free%20verse. Accessed 8 Oct. 2026.

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More from Merriam-Webster on free verse

Britannica.com: Encyclopedia article about free verse

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