as in colloquial
used in or suitable for speech and not formal writing
poems written in a natural, unliterary voice
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Recent Examples of unliterary
The bond between Alice and the spiky, decidedly unliterary Felix might flummox.
—
New York Times, 1 Sep. 2021
Both were born as writers in public libraries—hyper-bright American Jewish urban boys from unliterary backgrounds, encountering the classics on their own, without too much pre-sorting, responding with delight, imitation, amusement, and familiarity.
—Adam Gopnik, The New Yorker, 24 Aug. 2021
New York Times, 1 Sep. 2021
Both were born as writers in public libraries—hyper-bright American Jewish urban boys from unliterary backgrounds, encountering the classics on their own, without too much pre-sorting, responding with delight, imitation, amusement, and familiarity.
—Adam Gopnik, The New Yorker, 24 Aug. 2021
Recent Examples of Synonyms for unliterary
Adjective
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Twain dared to buck the expectations of critics by using the colloquial dialect and slang of those with little education.—
Kyra Davis Lurie
June 11,
Literary Hub,
11 June 2025
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So what follows is the colloquial Q&A, more or less unedited, from my email exchange with that reporter.—
George Calhoun,
Forbes.com,
31 May 2025
Adjective
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Coaches and deans and ADs weren’t amending their vernacular to avoid offending kids.—
Dawn Staley,
New York Times,
20 May 2025
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Mamet emphasizes the vernacular like a theatrical soothsayer while Zahler visualizes violence to clarify circumstance and character.—
Armond White,
National Review,
14 May 2025
Adjective
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The partnership was a crash course for them both: an informal academy with a class roster of two.—
Josh Rottenberg,
Los Angeles Times,
25 June 2025
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Chris Jackson/Getty Images At one stage, the king had hoped for a more informal meeting in Scotland, where the royals spend their summer holiday.—
Jack Royston,
MSNBC Newsweek,
25 June 2025
Cite this Entry
“Unliterary.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/unliterary. Accessed 30 Jun. 2025.
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