as in learned
suggestive of the vocabulary used in books
the novel's dialogue is a little too literary in flavor to be entirely convincing
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Example Sentences
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Recent Examples of literary
From famous bookstores to iconic bars, restaurants, and hotels where a diverse range of literary figures gathered, here are 20 of New York's best literary sites.
—
Joseph V Micallef, Forbes, 30 Jan. 2025
From initials to designs, these bibliophiles are making their mark on the literary world one press at a time.
—Haley Velasco, Miami Herald, 30 Jan. 2025
Throughout its history, The New Yorker has been known for publishing influential writers such as J.D. Salinger, John Updike, Joan Didion, and James Baldwin, and for introducing groundbreaking literary fiction, poetry, and essays.
—Matt Grobar, Deadline, 24 Jan. 2025
Arranging her songs for orchestras, programming cutting edge beats, and writing lyrics with wit, emotion, and historical and literary inspirations, Björk is an art pop icon and one of the world’s most original living songwriters.
—Al Shipley, SPIN, 22 Jan. 2025
See all Example Sentences for literary 
Joseph V Micallef, Forbes, 30 Jan. 2025
From initials to designs, these bibliophiles are making their mark on the literary world one press at a time.
—Haley Velasco, Miami Herald, 30 Jan. 2025
Throughout its history, The New Yorker has been known for publishing influential writers such as J.D. Salinger, John Updike, Joan Didion, and James Baldwin, and for introducing groundbreaking literary fiction, poetry, and essays.
—Matt Grobar, Deadline, 24 Jan. 2025
Arranging her songs for orchestras, programming cutting edge beats, and writing lyrics with wit, emotion, and historical and literary inspirations, Björk is an art pop icon and one of the world’s most original living songwriters.
—Al Shipley, SPIN, 22 Jan. 2025
See all Example Sentences for literary
Recent Examples of Synonyms for literary
Adjective
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Holding an infant while reviewing drawings is one such learned skill!—
Sydney Gore,
Architectural Digest,
6 Feb. 2025
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The bottom line: Football and books — the recipe for a more learned and literate America.—
Isaac Avilucea,
Axios,
13 Jan. 2025
Adjective
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It’s been largely overlooked, but the Palisades has its own rich intellectual history.—
Peter Kiefer,
The Hollywood Reporter,
31 Jan. 2025
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The ribbon-cutting for a new Libertyville facility for people with intellectual and developmental disabilities highlights the need for such services in a state with thousands of people stuck on a waitlist.—
Joseph States,
Chicago Tribune,
31 Jan. 2025
Adjective
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Many nonprofit and academic studies blame it on the slashing of crucial federal social-aid and housing programs under Reagan’s watch, while others say the bigger problem is that government money meant for the poor gets sucked up in bureaucracy or badly diverted.—
Kevin Fagan,
TIME,
4 Feb. 2025
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By the end of the school year, Columbia had called the police on the protesters twice, including students who teamed up with activists to occupy an academic building.—
Cayla Bamberger,
New York Daily News,
4 Feb. 2025
Adjective
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The story is about a bookish Black girl, in love with English literature (and the emotionally indecipherable white professor teaching it) at a predominantly white university in 1949, losing her childhood illusions — and then, in a gothic twist, losing much more.—
Scott Brown,
New York Times,
2 Dec. 2022
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Bryce Young is bookish, too.—
Joseph Goodman | jgoodman@al.com,
al,
9 Dec. 2022
Adjective
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This perhaps comes through most clearly in the film’s surprisingly considerate treatment of religion, especially in a scholastic environment.—
Ryan Swen,
Variety,
25 Jan. 2025
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Here is an important one: Were the poll respondents made aware of the actual number of transgender students participating in scholastic sports relative to the overall number of students participating in those programs, based upon either local, state, or national statistics?—
Reader Commentary,
Baltimore Sun,
9 Jan. 2025
Adjective
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For most of her career, Ms. van Kampen was one of the many erudite, imaginative artists of the theater who stay behind the scenes.—
Alex Traub,
New York Times,
19 Jan. 2025
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That influence is palpable in Hudson’s playing, which is marked by unexpected, almost counterintuitive little figures; his style was erudite, but teasing.—
Amanda Petrusich,
The New Yorker,
24 Jan. 2025
Thesaurus Entries Near literary
Cite this Entry
“Literary.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/literary. Accessed 13 Feb. 2025.
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