Synonyms of literary

literary

adjective

ˈli-tə-ˌrer-ē 

as in learned

suggestive of the vocabulary used in books

the novel's dialogue is a little too literary in flavor to be entirely convincing

Synonyms & Similar Words

• learned
• intellectual
• academic
• bookish
• scholastic
• erudite
• educated
• formal
• schooled
• belletristic
• highbrow
• pedantic
• eloquent
• elevated
• donnish
• stately
• inkhorn
• majestic
• declamatory
• bombastic
• flowery
• grandiloquent
• pompous
• highbrowed
• towering
• florid
• lofty
• stilted
• high-flown
• highfalutin

Antonyms & Near Antonyms

• nonliterary
• colloquial
• conversational
• informal
• familiar
• chatty
• unbookish
• slangy
• illiterate

Example Sentences

Recent Examples of literary

Critics have long speculated that his depiction was satirical—that the first utopian literary work was, at least in part, dystopian. — Boris Kachka, The Atlantic, 4 Sep. 2026

The diary became a literary phenomenon in Germany and is considered one of the defining works of contemporary German literature. — Elsa Keslassy, Variety, 3 Sep. 2026

Published posthumously in 2013, the subsequent Work and Structure became a literary phenomenon in Germany and is now regarded as one of the defining works of contemporary German literature. — Melanie Goodfellow, Deadline, 3 Sep. 2026

Growing up in the foothills of eastern Kentucky as a compulsive reader and full-time hillbilly, I was instinctively attracted, like most literary-minded country folk, to the work of essayist, novelist, and poet, Wendell Berry. — Literary Hub, 2 Sep. 2026