as in poet
a person who writes poetry
she's a poetaster whose verse never rises above what is found on greeting cards
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Recent Examples of poetaster
Heti’s detractors could probably put a bottle in the middle of a table and entertain themselves reading lines out of context in suave, poetaster voices.
—
New York Times, 7 Feb. 2022
But -aster words have never been particularly common, with the exception of poetaster, an inferior poet.
—Melissa Mohr, The Christian Science Monitor, 28 June 2018
New York Times, 7 Feb. 2022
But -aster words have never been particularly common, with the exception of poetaster, an inferior poet.
—Melissa Mohr, The Christian Science Monitor, 28 June 2018
Recent Examples of Synonyms for poetaster
Noun
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During the Grand Tour era in the 18th century, poets, painters, and aristocrats flocked here to admire the city’s ancient ruins and baroque art and architecture—still valid reasons to visit now, though today’s travelers will find plenty of modern pleasures as well.—
Laura Itzkowitz,
Robb Report,
4 June 2026
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Interest in the author’s life can curdle into obsession, as in Henry James’s The Aspern Papers, in which the narrator embraces any deception necessary to acquire the letters of a dead poet.—
Walt Hunter,
The Atlantic,
4 June 2026
Noun
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Blues developed after the Civil War (1861–65) and was influenced by 19th-century work songs and field hollers, minstrel show music, ragtime, and church music such as spirituals and hymns, as well as the folk and popular music of white Southerners.—
René Ostberg,
Encyclopedia Britannica,
15 May 2026
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Gangsta rap’s effectiveness as a prosecutorial tool, like the minstrel shows before it, depends on audiences mistaking caricature for authenticity, and hinges on hearing artistic expression as documentary evidence of criminal actions.—
A.D. Carson,
The Conversation,
6 May 2026
Cite this Entry
“Poetaster.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/poetaster. Accessed 7 Jun. 2026.
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