Did you know?
To the ancient Greeks, anything lyrikos was appropriate to the lyre. That elegant stringed instrument was highly regarded by the Greeks and was used to accompany intensely personal poetry that revealed the thoughts and feelings of the poet. When the adjective lyric, a descendant of lyrikos, was adopted into English in the 1500s, it too referred to things pertaining or adapted to the lyre. Initially, it was applied to poetic forms (such as elegies, odes, or sonnets) that express strong emotion, to poets who write such works, or to things meant to be sung. Over time, it was extended to anything musical or rhapsodic. Nowadays, lyric is also used as a noun naming either a type of poem or the words of a song.
Synonyms
Examples of lyric in a Sentence
Melissa Ruggieri, USA TODAY, 14 Apr. 2024
The line, typed out in quotes, could be a lyric from the album that’s due in just days, on April 19.
—Ashley Iasimone, Billboard, 14 Apr. 2024
An Arkansas man accused of putting threatening lyrics in his rap music has pleaded not guilty, stating that the violence is part of his persona as a musician, authorities said.
—Lauren Liebhaber, Kansas City Star, 12 Apr. 2024
The group’s Ezra Koenig, who wrote the lyrics in 2019 and 2020, produced the album with longtime collaborator Ariel Rechtshaid.
—Emily Zemler, Rolling Stone, 11 Apr. 2024
Low’s sound is solemn, sometimes glacial, with elliptical lyrics that often touch on questions of faith.
—Justin Taylor, The New Yorker, 11 Apr. 2024
Its devastatingly personal title track, written before his grandfather’s death, includes haunting, specific lyrics reminiscing about their time together.
—Josh Crutchmer, New York Times, 10 Apr. 2024
Professor Zoellner has graciously consented to briefly withdraw his critical gaze from high art and cast an eye for SPIN at pop and rock lyrics.
—Tom Zoellner, SPIN, 9 Apr. 2024
Musical numbers here rarely feature any lyrics as Mancuso never fully breaks out into song.
—Carlos Aguilar, Variety, 6 Apr. 2024
Maureen Lee Lenker, EW.com, 6 Mar. 2024
The fed up snide of the lyric contrasts with the danger-defying romance Doja Cat presented across Scarlet.
—Larisha Paul, Rolling Stone, 29 Mar. 2024
Beyoncé also published lyric videos on her YouTube channel.
—Angel Saunders, Peoplemag, 29 Mar. 2024
His soaring tenor is singularly beautiful, and everyone who hears him is touched by the lyric quality of his singing.
—Heide Janssen, Orange County Register, 17 Mar. 2024
One afternoon last month, at a recording studio in Montclair, New Jersey, Tony Visconti, the record producer, sat in a control room turning a lyric sheet into a paper cone.
—Nick Paumgarten, The New Yorker, 8 Jan. 2024
Using ideas lifted from his lyric journals, Reznor imagined a new mind in which to pour all his deepest fears, doubts, and resentments.
—Adam Steiner, SPIN, 8 Mar. 2024
Pankaj Udhas, a singer from India whose soulful renditions of ghazals, or lyric love songs, were a cornerstone of many Bollywood films over his decades-long career, died in Mumbai on Monday.
—John Yoon, New York Times, 27 Feb. 2024
The Buenos Aires show also marked the first time Kelce met Swift's dad, Scott, and the first time Swift performed the lyric change.
—Ingrid Vasquez, Peoplemag, 24 Feb. 2024
These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'lyric.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.
Word History
Podcast
Theme music by Joshua Stamper ©2006 New Jerusalem Music/ASCAP
Get Word of the Day delivered to your inbox!
Dictionary Entries Near lyric
Cite this Entry
“Lyric.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/lyric. Accessed 20 Apr. 2024.
Copy Citation
Kids Definition
lyric
1 of 2 noun
lyric
2 of 2 adjective
More from Merriam-Webster on lyric
Nglish: Translation of lyric for Spanish Speakers
Britannica English: Translation of lyric for Arabic Speakers
Britannica.com: Encyclopedia article about lyric
Share