the literati
noun
: educated people who know about and are interested in literature
a new novelist who has been embraced by the literati
Examples of the literati in a Sentence
Recent Examples on the Web
The book has been collecting laurels from both the literati and the trades.
—
Brittany Allen, Literary Hub, 27 Aug. 2025
In particular, ‘The Replica’ stresses the contrast between the lyrical allusion-pastoralism of the ‘real’ world and the artificial staging of literature as purview of the literati.
—Matthew Carey Salyer, Forbes.com, 17 July 2025
For the literati, by the literati Born in 1892 in Aspen, Colorado, Ross worked out west as a reporter while still a teenager.
—Christopher B. Daly, The Conversation, 11 Feb. 2025
Throughout the 20th century, while historical fiction produced plenty of bestsellers, the literati tended, with grudging exceptions, to look down upon historical fiction as middlebrow escapism.
—Sam Sacks, WSJ, 28 Dec. 2023
Bashevis’s nephew Maurice Carr, in his memoir, recounts a family reunion at a writers’ retreat in 1926, when the literati were already swirling around Bashevis.
—The New Yorker, 18 Dec. 2023
Although Roth preserved the author’s anonymity, many of the literati of the late Weimar era would have known who wrote this wryly ironic tale of a young man fumbling his way through the war years.
—Johannes Von Moltke, The New York Review of Books, 2 Nov. 2023
But Ward’s daily life does not consist of rubbing elbows with the literati in their New York haunts.
—Imani Perry, New York Times, 13 Oct. 2023
What was supporting the grand mansions and the literati in England in the middle of the 19th century?
—Carolyn Kellogg, Los Angeles Times, 30 Aug. 2023
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.
Brittany Allen, Literary Hub, 27 Aug. 2025
In particular, ‘The Replica’ stresses the contrast between the lyrical allusion-pastoralism of the ‘real’ world and the artificial staging of literature as purview of the literati.
—Matthew Carey Salyer, Forbes.com, 17 July 2025
For the literati, by the literati Born in 1892 in Aspen, Colorado, Ross worked out west as a reporter while still a teenager.
—Christopher B. Daly, The Conversation, 11 Feb. 2025
Throughout the 20th century, while historical fiction produced plenty of bestsellers, the literati tended, with grudging exceptions, to look down upon historical fiction as middlebrow escapism.
—Sam Sacks, WSJ, 28 Dec. 2023
Bashevis’s nephew Maurice Carr, in his memoir, recounts a family reunion at a writers’ retreat in 1926, when the literati were already swirling around Bashevis.
—The New Yorker, 18 Dec. 2023
Although Roth preserved the author’s anonymity, many of the literati of the late Weimar era would have known who wrote this wryly ironic tale of a young man fumbling his way through the war years.
—Johannes Von Moltke, The New York Review of Books, 2 Nov. 2023
But Ward’s daily life does not consist of rubbing elbows with the literati in their New York haunts.
—Imani Perry, New York Times, 13 Oct. 2023
What was supporting the grand mansions and the literati in England in the middle of the 19th century?
—Carolyn Kellogg, Los Angeles Times, 30 Aug. 2023
Cite this Entry
“The literati.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/the%20literati. Accessed 11 Sep. 2025.
Copy CitationLove words? Need even more definitions?
Merriam-Webster unabridged
Share