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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Recent Examples of free verse
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.
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Libby Monteith Minor,
Southern Living,
28 Feb. 2026
Nevada: National Cowboy Poetry Gathering Since 1985, ranchers, bull riders, and wranglers with a penchant for rhyming couplets and free verse have clambered to Elko, Nevada, for the National Cowboy Poetry Gathering.
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Ellen Carpenter,
AFAR Media,
15 Jan. 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.
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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
Libby Monteith Minor,
Southern Living,
28 Feb. 2026
Nevada: National Cowboy Poetry Gathering Since 1985, ranchers, bull riders, and wranglers with a penchant for rhyming couplets and free verse have clambered to Elko, Nevada, for the National Cowboy Poetry Gathering.
—
Ellen Carpenter,
AFAR Media,
15 Jan. 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
Noun
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The High Museum of Art is also hosting a Juneteenth event for visitors to tour the art galleries, make art of their own, listen to stories and poetry, laugh with comedians and dance during a Tambor Party.
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The day will include a dance party with DJ Dandara, poetry readings, community care, and visioning.
Noun
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The poem that precedes it, the Iliad, is a cruel and beautiful work, the ultimate story of war; the Odyssey has its warlike passages, but its central energies seem almost commonplace beside the merciless fury of Achilles.
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The poems explore themes of loss, identity, artmaking and the natural world, as well as the 1885 expulsion of Chinese immigrants from Eureka, California.
Noun
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The event will culminate Saturday with a performance by Common, whose career has been defined by socially conscious lyrics, storytelling and advocacy.
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The band says that the themes and lyrics of Book of Love reflected their lives and experiences in New York City during that period in the 1980s.
Noun
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The piece has the pattern of blank verse.
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But Kantor wrote it in blank verse — little help for the script.
Noun
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The rhyme references a viral chant that has taken the internet by storm during the NBA Finals in which the Knicks are currently up 3-1 against the San Antonio Spurs.
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It's got a lot going on, but there's a reason to every rhyme.
Noun
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So to reel it in, Pillsbury and his band threw on a sitar — which made the cut on a few songs — and a flute solo.
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Listen to the Obama playlists Barack Obama is known for releasing his songs of the summer playlist each year, and his end-of-year favorites in books, movies and music.
Cite this Entry
“Free verse.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/free%20verse. Accessed 25 Jun. 2026.
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