1
as in poem
a composition using rhythm and often rhyme to create a lyrical effect
would you care to read your short lyric aloud?
Synonyms & Similar Words
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2
as in ballad
a short musical composition for the human voice often with instrumental accompaniment
the guitarist sang a gentle lyric while playing
Synonyms & Similar Words
1
as in lyrical
having a pleasantly flowing quality suggestive of music
they performed a slow, lyric dance for the audience
Synonyms & Similar Words
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
2
as in poetic
having qualities suggestive of poetry
the film's lyric photography really enhanced its romantic mood
Synonyms & Similar Words
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
Example Sentences
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Recent Examples of lyric
Jon Dolan, Rolling Stone, 4 June 2026
Over the years, his lyrics haven’t changed much, but the perspective has shifted from observant kid caught in the mix to pushing-30 vet cutting memory tracks on the days when life was a lot simpler.
—Alphonse Pierre, Pitchfork, 4 June 2026
Jennifer Armstrong, IndieWire, 15 Apr. 2026
And through all this, Saariaho’s elaborately beautiful orchestration scintillates, jabs, caresses, and swerves, giving all that vivid misery a sheen of lyric glamour.
—Justin Davidson, Vulture, 7 Apr. 2026
See All Example Sentences for lyric
Noun
The album teams with moments like this, bits where the music might evoke a modern homespun permutation of greats like Daryl Hall and John Oates or even Prince, and the lyrics add new wrinkles to classic pop heartbreak.
—Jon Dolan, Rolling Stone, 4 June 2026
Over the years, his lyrics haven’t changed much, but the perspective has shifted from observant kid caught in the mix to pushing-30 vet cutting memory tracks on the days when life was a lot simpler.
—Alphonse Pierre, Pitchfork, 4 June 2026
Adjective
The pandemic special is not available online, but why not queue up this lyric video version for a pick-me-up?
—Jennifer Armstrong, IndieWire, 15 Apr. 2026
And through all this, Saariaho’s elaborately beautiful orchestration scintillates, jabs, caresses, and swerves, giving all that vivid misery a sheen of lyric glamour.
—Justin Davidson, Vulture, 7 Apr. 2026
See All Example Sentences for lyric
Recent Examples of Synonyms for lyric
Noun
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Far from moderating political passions, Freneau stoked hatred of his political rivals, the Federalists, and their leader, Alexander Hamilton, even publishing an anti-Semitic poem comparing Hamilton’s work at the Treasury Department to that of Jewish moneylenders.—
Jeffrey Rosen,
The Atlantic,
6 June 2026
-
The film is a re-telling of Homer’s poem about Odysseus’ long journey home.—
Brent Lang,
Variety,
4 June 2026
Noun
-
The entertainment could be a little racier than being serenaded by a trio singing Greek power ballads at dinnertime.—
Condé Nast,
Condé Nast Traveler,
2 June 2026
-
In the heart of the capital Praia, a city of under 200,000 residents, singers belt out morna ballads from restaurants — morna being Cape Verde's traditional music, with African and Portuguese influences.—
Ricci Shryock,
NPR,
27 May 2026
Adjective
-
The lyrical direction of this record intrigued me.—
Hanif Abdurraqib,
New Yorker,
31 May 2026
-
But the emotional gravity of this offering's deeply personal, melancholic lyrical content plucks an undeniably profound chord that uniquely separates it from the rest of his work.—
Chris Barilla,
PEOPLE,
29 May 2026
Adjective
-
And keep in mind, Dosa’s film is a ruminative and poetic love letter to a glacier, so literally and figuratively super slow moving is the perfect rollout for a film like this.—
Brian Welk,
IndieWire,
3 June 2026
-
Shange manages to replace singular poetic voice with a group of players.—
Literary Hub,
Literary Hub,
29 May 2026
Noun
-
Our mother, who had annoyed me deeply throughout most of my life, managed something so heroic that there should have been songs written about her to be sung around campfires by Girl Scouts.—
Literary Hub,
Literary Hub,
3 June 2026
-
The band has figured out how to flesh out one another’s songs while giving the songwriter who first came up with the idea complete creative control over the composition.—
Jonathan Bernstein,
Rolling Stone,
3 June 2026
Noun
-
The hymn’s plea resounded in the cavernous venue after the director cut us off.—
Katie Thornton,
Harpers Magazine,
26 May 2026
-
While watching a video about the Protestant church in Cuba, Calderon was proud to see the congregants singing his grandfather’s hymn.—
Richard J. Gonzales,
Fort Worth Star-Telegram,
23 May 2026
Adjective
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There has never quite been a critical or scholarly consensus about them, but Bellini, whose music is suspended somewhere between Rossini’s precise brilliance and Donizetti’s rhetorical force, can move audiences with his melodic facility.—
Arya Roshanian,
The New York Review of Books,
6 June 2026
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Where most conversations are half-silent, important figures in Rimbaud’s life are embodied by musical instruments, ranging from overbearing tubas to melodic strings, depending on who’s speaking and their place in the story.—
Siddhant Adlakha,
Variety,
2 June 2026
Adjective
-
There are ones who are more ideological, others more poetical.—
Scott Roxborough,
HollywoodReporter,
21 Jan. 2026
-
Svelte yet heavy, Clipse’s latest sees all their phonetic and poetical gifts rendered to subtly maximal effect, with their lithe vocals cresting Pharrell’s glossy surfaces like snowfall.—
Peter A. Berry,
Variety,
11 July 2025
Cite this Entry
“Lyric.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/lyric. Accessed 8 Jun. 2026.
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