as in bards
a writer and performer of songs or poetry in the Middle Ages
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Recent Examples of troubadours
His early writing reflected the popular style of the French troubadours, courtly poet-musicians who sang of their longing for a beautiful lady.
—
Claudia Roth Pierpont, New Yorker, 24 Nov. 2025
That exquisitely rare skill — the ability to arrange a handful of ordinary notes in a way that makes time stop and pulses quicken — unites long-anonymous troubadours, symphonists, Broadway entertainers, earnest singer-songwriters, griots, and ancient clerics.
—Justin Davidson, Vulture, 30 Sep. 2025
Medieval Europe, an era that gave us heraldry, court jesters, and troubadours, is rendered in dull, grayish brown hues.
—Will Collins, The Washington Examiner, 19 Sep. 2025
Claudia Roth Pierpont, New Yorker, 24 Nov. 2025
That exquisitely rare skill — the ability to arrange a handful of ordinary notes in a way that makes time stop and pulses quicken — unites long-anonymous troubadours, symphonists, Broadway entertainers, earnest singer-songwriters, griots, and ancient clerics.
—Justin Davidson, Vulture, 30 Sep. 2025
Medieval Europe, an era that gave us heraldry, court jesters, and troubadours, is rendered in dull, grayish brown hues.
—Will Collins, The Washington Examiner, 19 Sep. 2025
Recent Examples of Synonyms for troubadours
Noun
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But there’s nothing slack, or lazy, or subjective, or self-indulgent, about the elaborate verse-craft of those bards.—
Literary Hub,
Literary Hub,
12 Dec. 2025
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Yet Seamus Heaney and Ted Hughes, among others, insisted that Brown, whose archaic-modern style telescopes entire epochs into a few flinty lines, belongs among the major twentieth-century bards.—
Alex Ross,
New Yorker,
24 Nov. 2025
Noun
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There's also a lineup of documentaries whose subjects include singers Courtney Love and Marianne Faithfull, tennis legend Billie Jean King, author Salman Rushdie, and topics like artificial intelligence, summitting K2, and children competing to sell the most Girl Scout cookies.—
David Morgan,
CBS News,
22 Jan. 2026
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Orthodox Jews viewed the pop-up novelty with its mixed troupes as an abomination, but young female actors and singers embraced the emancipatory promise of the stage.—
Literary Hub,
Literary Hub,
22 Jan. 2026
Noun
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Words on love and politics are whispered and rapped in English, Spanish, Yupik, and Tlingit, and a cast of guest vocalists rotate in and out, yet the mood never breaks.—
Petala Ironcloud,
Pitchfork,
20 Jan. 2026
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Parton wrote the tune herself, but, like the new version, the album featured several notable guests including Roy Acuff, Chet Atkins, Minnie Pearl, Kitty Wells, and Ernest Tubb as backing vocalists.—
Kory Grow,
Rolling Stone,
16 Jan. 2026
Cite this Entry
“Troubadours.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/troubadours. Accessed 25 Jan. 2026.
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