as in poetry
verse that does not rhyme and does not have a regular rhythm
The author's free verse has a unique rhythmic intensity.
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Recent Examples of free verse
Like family feuds, squabbles among poets are too tedious to recount, but Wiman remembers being accused of commissioning too much prose, of privileging formalism over free verse, and of publishing vicious reviews and vacuous poetry.
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Casey Cep, The New Yorker, 4 Dec. 2023
The book, first published in 1927, is organized according to the calendar, with a passage of free verse that evokes the qualities and pleasures of each month, a small monochrome drawing nearby, and, on the facing page, a full-color illustration of the sort to draw fascinated attention.
—Meghan Cox Gurdon, WSJ, 16 Nov. 2023
His sentences come out as free verse, a sort of Rust Belt beat poetry.
—Popular Mechanics, 14 Apr. 2023
In The Letters of Thom Gunn, a new, behemoth collection of private correspondence across six decades, Gunn grapples with his states of in-betweenness: between being English and American; between writing free verse and formal verse; between exercising emotion and rationality.
—Jeremy Lybarger, The New Republic, 17 June 2022
See all Example Sentences for free verse 
Casey Cep, The New Yorker, 4 Dec. 2023
The book, first published in 1927, is organized according to the calendar, with a passage of free verse that evokes the qualities and pleasures of each month, a small monochrome drawing nearby, and, on the facing page, a full-color illustration of the sort to draw fascinated attention.
—Meghan Cox Gurdon, WSJ, 16 Nov. 2023
His sentences come out as free verse, a sort of Rust Belt beat poetry.
—Popular Mechanics, 14 Apr. 2023
In The Letters of Thom Gunn, a new, behemoth collection of private correspondence across six decades, Gunn grapples with his states of in-betweenness: between being English and American; between writing free verse and formal verse; between exercising emotion and rationality.
—Jeremy Lybarger, The New Republic, 17 June 2022
See all Example Sentences for free verse
Recent Examples of Synonyms for free verse
Noun
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Is Sister Paxton feeling a hollowness in the poetry of her faith here?Nicholas Quah, Vulture, 8 Nov. 2024
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With spot-on comedic timing on both players’ parts, Hernandez’s boisterous interruptions paired well with Wickline’s soft-spoken poetry.Natalie Oganesyan, Deadline, 2 Nov. 2024
Noun
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As the Cure’s front man and primary songwriter, Smith’s never been shy about drawing blatant lyrical inspiration from his favorite books and poems.Chris Stanton, Vulture, 5 Nov. 2024
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Co-written with The Office executive producer Ben Silverman, The Night Before Christmas at Dunder Mifflin is described as a comedic retelling of the classic poem, featuring a visit from Steve Carell’s Michael Scott as Santa and narrated by Baumgartner’s Kevin Malone.Marc Berman, Forbes, 4 Nov. 2024
Noun
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Her lyrics tap into frustrations in relationships without narrative hand-holding.Craig Jenkins, Vulture, 19 Nov. 2024
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In addition to his wife, who wrote the album’s lyrics, Gilmour enlisted his 22-year-old daughter, Romany, to sing and play harp on the LP; there’s also a track constructed around an old recording of Wright from 2007.Mikael Wood, Los Angeles Times, 5 Nov. 2024
Noun
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The first assignment was to write a poem in blank verse.Elizabeth Lund, The Christian Science Monitor, 12 Sep. 2024
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Through a stylish mix of prose, blank verse and illustrations, Last on His Feet captures these tensions with unsparing poignancy.Brandon Tensley, Smithsonian Magazine, 5 Apr. 2023
Noun
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Gloria obliged, balancing out Jay’s heady rhymes with spoken reminiscences, making the track feel like a mini oral history.Zach Schonfeld, Vulture, 5 Nov. 2024
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For Still Praying, the Buffalo soldier links with DJ Drama, who serves as the host amid rampant rhyme spills on the part of Westside and his Griselda cohorts.Preezy Brown, VIBE.com, 1 Nov. 2024
Noun
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Trouble spots arise as songs lean tackily into nostalgia.Craig Jenkins, Vulture, 19 Nov. 2024
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The song reached new audiences — and new generations — when it was featured in the incredibly popular 2018 biopic film of the same name, which was based on MercyMe singer Bart Millard’s life and focused in large part on the story behind the song.Randy McMullen, The Mercury News, 13 Nov. 2024
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Cite this Entry
“Free verse.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/free%20verse. Accessed 23 Nov. 2024.
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