lyr·ic

(lĭr′ĭk)

adj.

a. Of or relating to a category of poetry that expresses subjective thoughts and feelings, often in a songlike style or form.

b. Relating to or constituting a poem in this category, such as a sonnet or ode.

c. Of or relating to a writer of poems in this category.

2. Lyrical.

3. Music

a. Having a singing voice of light volume and modest range.

b. Of, relating to, or being musical drama, especially opera: the lyric stage.

c. Having a pleasing succession of sounds; melodious.

d. Of or relating to the lyre or harp.

e. Appropriate for accompaniment by the lyre.

1. A lyric poem.

2. often lyrics Music The words of a song.

[French lyrique, of a lyre, from Old French, from Latin lyricus, from Greek lurikos, from lura, lyre.]

American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fifth Edition. Copyright © 2016 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.

lyric

(ˈlɪrɪk)

adj

1. (Poetry) expressing the writer's personal feelings and thoughts

2. (Music, other) having the form and manner of a song

3. (Poetry) of or relating to such poetry

4. (Music, other) (of music) having songlike qualities

5. (Music, other) (of a singing voice) having a light quality and tone

6. (Music, other) intended for singing, esp (in classical Greece) to the accompaniment of the lyre

7. (Poetry) a short poem of songlike quality

8. (Pop Music) (plural) the words of a popular song

Also (for senses 1–4): lyrical

[C16: from Latin lyricus, from Greek lurikos, from lura lyre]

ˈlyrically adv

ˈlyricalness n

Collins English Dictionary – Complete and Unabridged, 12th Edition 2014 © HarperCollins Publishers 1991, 1994, 1998, 2000, 2003, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2011, 2014

lyr•ic

(ˈlɪr ɪk)

adj. Also, lyr′i•cal.

1. (of a poem) having the form and general effect of a song, esp. one expressing the writer's feelings.

2. pertaining to or writing lyric poetry.

3. characterized by or expressing strong, spontaneous feeling: lyric writing.

4. pertaining to, rendered by, or employing singing.

5. (of a voice) relatively light of volume and modest in range: a lyric soprano.

6. pertaining, adapted, or sung to the lyre, or composing poems to be sung to the lyre.

7. a lyric poem.

8. Usu., lyrics. the words of a song.

[1575–85; < Latin lyricus < Greek lyrikós]

lyr′i•cal•ly, adv.

lyr′i•cal•ness, n.

ThesaurusAntonymsRelated WordsSynonymsLegend:

Noun	1.	lyric - the text of a popular song or musical-comedy number; "his compositions always started with the lyrics"; "he wrote both words and music"; "the song uses colloquial language" words, language text, textual matter - the words of something written; "there were more than a thousand words of text"; "they handed out the printed text of the mayor's speech"; "he wants to reconstruct the original text" song, vocal - a short musical composition with words; "a successful musical must have at least three good songs" love lyric - the lyric of a love song
	2.	lyric - a short poem of songlike quality lyric poem poem, verse form - a composition written in metrical feet forming rhythmical lines ode - a lyric poem with complex stanza forms strophe - one section of a lyric poem or choral ode in classical Greek drama antistrophe - the section of a choral ode answering a previous strophe in classical Greek drama; the second of two metrically corresponding sections in a poem
Verb	1.	lyric - write lyrics for (a song) poesy, poetry, verse - literature in metrical form indite, pen, write, compose - produce a literary work; "She composed a poem"; "He wrote four novels" relyric - write new lyrics for (a song)
Adj.	1.	lyric - expressing deep emotion; "the dancer's lyrical performance" lyrical emotional - of more than usual emotion; "his behavior was highly emotional"
	2.	lyric - used of a singer or singing voice that is light in volume and modest in range; "a lyric soprano" music - an artistic form of auditory communication incorporating instrumental or vocal tones in a structured and continuous manner dramatic - used of a singer or singing voice that is marked by power and expressiveness and a histrionic or theatrical style; "a dramatic tenor"; "a dramatic soprano"
	3.	lyric - relating to or being musical drama; "the lyric stage" music - an artistic form of auditory communication incorporating instrumental or vocal tones in a structured and continuous manner
	4.	lyric - of or relating to a category of poetry that expresses emotion (often in a songlike way); "lyric poetry" poesy, poetry, verse - literature in metrical form

lyric

adjective

1. (of poetry) songlike, musical, lyrical, expressive, melodic His splendid short stories and lyric poetry.

2. (of a voice) melodic, clear, clear, light, flowing, graceful, mellifluous, dulcet her fresh, beautiful, lyric voice

plural noun

1. words, lines, text, libretto, words of a song an opera with lyrics by Langston Hughes

Collins Thesaurus of the English Language – Complete and Unabridged 2nd Edition. 2002 © HarperCollins Publishers 1995, 2002

lyric

adjective

Of, relating to, or having the characteristics of poetry:

poetic, poetical.

Translations

قصيدَه غنائيَّه عاطِفِيَّهكَلِمات الأغْنِيَه

lyrickýlyrikatext

lyriklyrisktekstvers

Liedtext lyrisch

lírico poema lírico

lyrique lyrisme paroles poème

dalszöveglírailírai költemény

lÿrík, lÿrískt ljóîlÿrískursöngtexti

lirico lirica

lyrinislyrinis eilėraštislyriškasžodžiai

dziesmas vārdiliriskslirisks dzejolis

lyrikk lyrisk sangtekst vers

лирический

lyrickýlyrika

duygusal güfte liriklirik şiirşarkı sözü

抒情的抒情诗歌词

lyric

[ˈlɪrɪk]

A. ADJ → lírico

B. N (= poem) → poema m lírico; (= genre) → lírica f lyrics (= words of song) → letra fsing

Collins Spanish Dictionary - Complete and Unabridged 8th Edition 2005 © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1971, 1988 © HarperCollins Publishers 1992, 1993, 1996, 1997, 2000, 2003, 2005

lyric

[ˈlɪrɪk]

adj → lyrique

lyrics npl [song, musical] → paroles fpl

Collins English/French Electronic Resource. © HarperCollins Publishers 2005

lyric

adj → lyrisch

n (= poem) → lyrisches Gedicht; (= genre) → Lyrik f; (= often pl: words of pop song) → Text m

Collins German Dictionary – Complete and Unabridged 7th Edition 2005. © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1980 © HarperCollins Publishers 1991, 1997, 1999, 2004, 2005, 2007

lyric

[ˈlɪrɪk]

1. adj → lirico/a

2. n (poem) → lirica lyrics npl (words of song) → parole fpl

lyric

(ˈlirik) adjective

(of poetry) expressing the poet's personal feeling.

noun

1. a lyric poem.

2. (in plural) the words of a song. The tune is good, but I don't like the lyrics.

Mentioned in

References in classic literature

But while dramatic poetry declined, lyric poetry flourished.

View in context

Exposition (as in most essays) cannot as a rule be permeated with so much emotion as narration or, certainly, as lyric poetry.

Sometimes, however, as in a lyric poem, the effect intended may be the rendering or creation of a mood, such as that of happy content, and in that case the poem may not have an easily expressible concrete theme.

(2) Lyric. Lyric poems are expressions of spontaneous emotion and are necessarily short.

View in context

"Reveal not only an imagination of intense fire and heat, but an almost finished art--a power of conceiving subtle mental complexities with clearness and of expressing them in a picturesque form and in perfect lyric language.

View in context

He was roused from his almost lyric ecstacy, by a big double Saint-Jean cracker, which suddenly went off from the happy cabin.

View in context

Anne heard it and thrilled to it; Gilbert heard it, and wondered only that all the birds in the world had not burst into jubilant song; Paul heard it and later wrote a lyric about it which was one of the most admired in his first volume of verse; Charlotta the Fourth heard it and was blissfully sure it meant good luck for her adored Miss Shirley.

View in context

"Sea Lyrics," he called them, and he judged them to be the best work he had yet done.

He showed the "Sea Lyrics" to no one, not even to the editors.

View in context

Just a Song: Chinese Lyrics from the Eleventh and Early Twelfth Centuries

"The attraction of the courtesan Violetta Valry to the impetuous young Alfredo Germont, previously illuminated in Dumas's La Dame aux camlias, inspired Verdi to create what is by some distance the most romantic of his operas," wrote Lyric's General Director, President and CEO in Lyric Notes.

Lyric Opera beautifies Chicago with Verdi's La traviata

A second trio of plays will be shown at Lyric at the Plaza, 1725 NW 16th St.

Around Town: Nine spectacular shows on Lyric Theatre 2019 schedule