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

This proved not to be a solid strategy for achieving literary stardom. — Literary Hub, 6 July 2026

Born enslaved in Maryland, Frederick Douglass (1818-1895) escaped to the North and emerged as the nation’s leading abolitionist and major literary political figure of his time. — Melia Patria, ABC News, 4 July 2026

But after it was published in the literary magazine Granta, signs began to emerge that the story—about a cocoa farmer who cheated on his wife and then tried to kill her—may have been AI-generated. — Will Oremus, The Atlantic, 3 July 2026

More than introducing characters, the trailer is selling production value, making the case that this Les Misérables is as much historical epic as literary adaptation. — Scott Roxborough, HollywoodReporter, 2 July 2026