1,400 new words in our dictionary! — Parasocial, glow-up, promposal & more
1,400 new words in our dictionary! — More

unlyrical

adjective

Definition of unlyricalnext
1
as in prose

Related Words

Relevance

Dissimilar Words
2
as in jarring

Related Words

Dissimilar Words

Example Sentences

Recent Examples of Synonyms for unlyrical
  1. prose
  2. jarring
  3. dissonant
  4. harsh
  5. inharmonious
  6. unmusical
  7. grating
  8. strident
Adjective
  • Hardy’s prose brims with assurance and wry details that come from lived experiences and conversations.
    — Paula L. Woods, Los Angeles Times, 26 Aug. 2026
  • Breton’s often tortuous and highly idiomatic prose style presents an enormous challenge to translators.
    — Susan Rubin Suleiman, The New York Review of Books, 4 July 2026
Definition of prose
Adjective
  • That’s part of why the 14-point spread in favor of Iowa is so jarring.
    — Dan Santaromita, New York Times, 10 Sep. 2026
  • Lu added that if 90% of a film was generated by AI, a real human performance could appear jarring.
    — Ling Wei, Los Angeles Times, 10 Sep. 2026
Definition of jarring
Adjective
  • In a film, that’s where the music would come up, dissonant strings, ringing ears, the drums increasing tempo.
    — Brian Laidlaw, Longreads, 1 Sep. 2026
  • The score was such a beautiful, odd, dissonant piece of work.
    — Jeff Spry, Space.com, 27 July 2026
Definition of dissonant
Adjective
  • The video, and Ovechkin’s subsequent statements, have sparked harsh criticism in Europe, the United States and Canada, which is part of the NHL.
    — Ivana Kottasová, CNN Money, 19 Sep. 2026
  • Beyond biological and nuclear threats, AI companies face harsh organizational incentives to develop AI even faster and — experts say — more recklessly.
    — Jared Perlo, NBC news, 19 Sep. 2026
Definition of harsh
Adjective
  • We are made loving, good, and pure – entirely free from any inharmonious tendency.
    — Margaret Rogers, Christian Science Monitor, 15 Apr. 2026
  • Setting Discordant Personal Goals A 2023 study published in Current Psychology finds that partners’ inharmonious goals can have detrimental effects on relationships.
    — Mark Travers, Forbes, 29 Mar. 2024
Definition of inharmonious
Adjective
  • Those songs remind Omara of real people and real events, political interludes whose senselessness and brutality have left unmusical lacunae in her life.
    — Vinson Cunningham, The New Yorker, 18 Dec. 2023
  • His parents were unmusical Russian-Jewish immigrants who ran various businesses with mixed success.
    — The Economist, The Economist, 3 Oct. 2019
Definition of unmusical
Adjective
  • In lesser hands, Diablo Cody’s Rolodex of quirky zingers could come across more grating than endearing.
    — Patrick Ryan, USA Today, 19 July 2026
  • But her voice in the actual album mixes is less grating than the singles’ mixes imply, and the lyrics understand what’s cool and also overbearing about her overarching persona.
    — Craig Jenkins, Vulture, 6 July 2026
Definition of grating
Adjective
  • The announcement from British Foreign Secretary Ed Miliband in the House of Commons on Tuesday amounted to one of the most strident steps against Israeli settlements in recent years.
    — Ilan Ben Zion, Christian Science Monitor, 8 Sep. 2026
  • Merton did not believe in the cold war’s strident moral opposition between the free and unfree worlds.
    — Pankaj Mishra, The New York Review of Books, 27 Aug. 2026
Definition of strident
Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.

Browse Nearby Words

unlucky
unlyrical
unmacho
See all Nearby Words

Cite this Entry

“Unlyrical.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/unlyrical. Accessed 22 Sep. 2026.

Copy Citation
Last Updated: - Updated example sentences
Love words? Need even more definitions?

Subscribe to America's largest dictionary and get thousands more definitions and advanced search—ad free!

More from Merriam-Webster

Word of the Day

Listen to the pronunciation of nemesis

See Definitions and Examples »

Popular in Grammar & Usage

See More

Why do we use apostrophes to show possession?

Merriam-Webster’s Great Big List of Words You Love to Hate

The Exceptions of '-s' and '-es' Plurals

A Who’s Who Regarding ‘Who’s’ and ‘Whose’

'A' or 'an'? What about before 'h'? An Indefinite Article Guide
See More

Popular in Wordplay

See More

9 Words That Sound Like Insults But Aren't

Back to School Vocabulary

Words from the 'Odyssey'

14 Phobias You Probably Haven't Heard Of

The Words of the Week - Sept. 18
See More

Popular

See More

Why do we use apostrophes to show possession?

9 Words That Sound Like Insults But Aren't

Back to School Vocabulary
See More

Games & Quizzes

See All
Play Quordle: Guess all four words in a limited number of tries. Each of your guesses must be a real 5-letter word.
Quordle Can you solve 4 words at once?
Play Blossom: Solve today's spelling word game by finding as many words as you can using just 7 letters. Longer words score more points.
Blossom Pick the best words!
Play Missing Letter: a crossword with a twist. Each of the 25 puzzle words start with a different letter of the alphabet. Which letter is missing?
The Missing Letter A daily crossword with a twist
crayons-in-a-circle
Guess the Color Quiz Questions that use the whole box of crayons.
See All