ENGLISH
REFERENCE

lyrical

adj.
C1 Advanced US //ˈɫɪɹɪkəɫ// UK //lˈɪɹɪkəl// lyri·cal

adj. expressing deep feelings in a beautiful or poetic way. You use this to describe writing, music, or speech that sounds like a song.

adj. expressing the writer's or speaker's emotions in an imaginative and beautiful way; having a musical or song-like quality. Often used to describe prose that employs poetic devices.


SIMPLE

She wrote a lyrical description of the sunset.

CONTEXTUAL

The novelist is famous for her lyrical prose, which often feels more like poetry than a standard story.

COMPLEX

Critics praised the film not for its plot, but for its lyrical cinematography that captured the quiet melancholy of the deserted landscape.

Synonyms
Origin

From lyric + -al.

Usage

Can be used both attributively before a noun and predicatively after a linking verb like 'is' or 'becomes'.

© 2026 English Reference