as in colloquial
used in or suitable for speech and not formal writing
poems written in a natural, unliterary voice
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Example Sentences
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Recent Examples of unliterary
The bond between Alice and the spiky, decidedly unliterary Felix might flummox.
—
New York Times, 1 Sep. 2021
Both were born as writers in public libraries—hyper-bright American Jewish urban boys from unliterary backgrounds, encountering the classics on their own, without too much pre-sorting, responding with delight, imitation, amusement, and familiarity.
—Adam Gopnik, The New Yorker, 24 Aug. 2021
New York Times, 1 Sep. 2021
Both were born as writers in public libraries—hyper-bright American Jewish urban boys from unliterary backgrounds, encountering the classics on their own, without too much pre-sorting, responding with delight, imitation, amusement, and familiarity.
—Adam Gopnik, The New Yorker, 24 Aug. 2021
Recent Examples of Synonyms for unliterary
Adjective
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What is a Green Beret? Green Beret is the colloquial name used for members of the U.S. Army Special Forces.—
Fernando Cervantes Jr.,
USA TODAY,
2 Jan. 2025
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Purple group — colloquial suffixes (CORE, GATE, MANIA, PILLED) No perfect game, but that's nine wins in a row.—
Kris Holt,
Forbes,
5 Dec. 2024
Adjective
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Tennis is a difficult business; only a tiny sample size of its athletes achieve enough to become part of the vernacular.—
Charlie Eccleshare,
The Athletic,
26 Dec. 2024
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Glass-block walls nod to the Big Apple vernacular while a mural by Shantell Martin invokes the local legacy of street art.—
Sam Cochran,
Architectural Digest,
19 Dec. 2024
Adjective
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Week In Review: Trump’s Cabinet Picks Is Our Favorite New Reality Show By Katherine Fung Senior Writer 0 For the first time in eight years—almost to the day—The Celebrity Apprentice will make an informal return to American audiences.—
Justin Gest,
Newsweek,
20 Jan. 2025
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Getting the right help to where it’s needed Every study of a large-scale disaster conducted by the Disaster Research Center has revealed some level of emergent, informal helping behavior.—
James Kendra,
The Conversation,
20 Jan. 2025
Thesaurus Entries Near unliterary
Cite this Entry
“Unliterary.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/unliterary. Accessed 1 Feb. 2025.
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