adjective

• 1(of literature, art, or music) expressing the writer's emotions in an imaginative and beautiful way.

  ‘the poet's combination of lyrical and descriptive power’

  More example sentences

  • ‘Here the creaky melodrama is swept away by Tchaikovsky's lyrical music.’
  • ‘Everybody must have this recording in their collection: It is the most sublime music and sophisticated and lyrical jazz ever recorded.’
  • ‘The lyrical art writing of John Ashbery, Bill Berkson, and Peter Schjeldhal has obvious affinities with Pater's.’
  • ‘Still, this is, in the end, an above average Kreisleriana, especially effective in the more lyrical music.’
  • ‘His music unites lyrical Romanticism with the rigours of Baroque and Classical forms.’
  • ‘But nevertheless, she has written emotionally charged music with lyrical directness.’
  • ‘Our music is lyrical, gritty and very original.’
  • ‘Beamish's taut and lyrical music may even win new admirers.’
  • ‘Tim Albery's production of Wagner's classic story of growing up, featuring some of his most lyrical music.’
  • ‘We have Hysteria for the more lyrical music and Hysteria Underground for the harder, more underground vibe.’
  • ‘Her poetry and prose quickly earned for her recognition as one of India's most lyrical and intellectually prolific writers.’
  • ‘A beautiful and lyrical middle interlude provides a brief respite amid music of unabating virtuosity.’
  • ‘He takes classes in musical theater, lyrical jazz, contemporary jazz, hip hop and funk.’
  • ‘A major influence in his lyrical visions is the writer Walt Whitman as signposted by the song ‘Leaves of Grass’.’
  • ‘You can find masters of any form, be it ballet, capoeira, flamenco or lyrical jazz.’
  • ‘This year, tap, ballet, and lyrical jazz will be offered for all levels of students.’
  • ‘The elegant and lyrical sculpture Tango, illustrated at right, is an icon of early twentieth-century American art.’
  • ‘You cannot help notice the remarkable literary, almost lyrical, quality about the work.’
  • ‘And even at its most splintered, the music remained intensely lyrical.’
  • ‘Far from a smutty provocation, the painting is unexpectedly lyrical.’

  Synonyms

  songlike, lyric, melodic, musical, melodious, rhapsodic, poetic

  View synonyms

  1. 1.1(of poetry or a poet) lyric.
     ‘Wordsworth's Lyrical Ballads’
     More example sentences

     • ‘Yet Seferis survived all this, and the lyrical anguish of the poetry is his testament.’
     • ‘Since he writes neither drama nor epic, he said, his poetry can only be lyrical.’
     • ‘He was portrayed as a brilliant lyrical poet, but an ineffectual dreamer whose poetry improved when he outgrew his youthful radicalism.’
     • ‘The conciseness of its language and the lyrical beauty of its poetry are unequated and it is recognised as one of the greatest literary and spiritual productions of India.’
     • ‘His poetry is sometimes lyrical, sometimes sharply satirical.’
     • ‘It also features some sublime lyrical poetry to boot.’
     • ‘On the other hand, Nero's love for lyrical poetry did not stop him from being a tyrant.’
     • ‘But both her prose and her poetry were extremely lyrical.’
     • ‘Boxley Street in east London may not seem a natural source of lyrical poetry.’
     • ‘The show combines Jack's unique and spine tingling voice with the lyrical poetry of Jacques Brel and more than a touch of cabaret light and magic.’
     • ‘It was during this period that he found his voice and produced his greatest lyrical poetry, including the personal manifesto to struggle and to love, A Cloud in Trousers.’
     • ‘There are even elements of The Beatles in some of the choral sections, while her major hero, David Bowie, is said to come through in her unexpected lyrical poetry.’
     • ‘This poetry was lyrical, taking its inspiration from nature and the countryside, and is now generally disregarded as lifeless and conventional.’
     • ‘The accents are at times difficult to understand but add to the appeal of the production and transform Synge's dialogue into lyrical poetry.’
     • ‘Are we prepared to take a step towards the thinking poet or the lyrical thinker, with the kind of concentration and pleasure in complexity that he deserves?’
     • ‘I Saw Ramallah is an intensely lyrical account of the poet's return to his hometown on the West Bank from protracted exile abroad.’
     • ‘Much of the debate of recent years has done serious damage to Burns' nature as a great lyrical and narrative poet.’
     • ‘There is no gentle poetry, no lyrical love duet, no sword fighting, no nurse, no doll, no childhood.’
     • ‘Jordan is a powerful, lyrical writer who explores dark places and finds transparent truths about guilt and innocence.’
     • ‘His poetry is neither traditional, nor audaciously experimental, but lyrical and contemporary in themes.’

• 2Relating to the words of a popular song.

  ‘the lyrical content of his songs’

  More example sentences

  • ‘Calypso according to Duke is our current editorial in song, timely in lyrical content and rhythm and relevant to said time and place.’
  • ‘Blimey, some of this recording is rather risqué - from the sultry photographs of Miss Phair that accompany the artwork to some of the lyrical content of the songs.’
  • ‘The folkier side of it comes out in the story-telling aspect of the song, the lyrical content.’
  • ‘With this horrifying statement, the song's lyrical content comes to an end.’
  • ‘Also the environment you grow up in is bound to be reflected in the lyrical content of the songs you write.’
  • ‘Meanwhile, if your taste is more house music with DJ and hardly any lyrical content in the songs, then pick Seb Fontaine's album.’
  • ‘The way that I work piece by piece, I write as I go and one melody might instigate a counter melody and the emotional nature of a song might inspire the lyrical content.’
  • ‘The story is in how Marshall attracts them, like you, with songs stripped of lyrical and musical artifice and a smoky, kool chick voice.’
  • ‘Certain companies which aimed at making a fast buck in the festival market produced albums in haste, due to which the songs lacked lyrical and musical quality.’
  • ‘There was a time when Malayalam drama and cinema songs had an inimitable lyrical and musical charm.’
  • ‘In both cases, the melodic and lyrical thrust of the song is not lost in the new version - both work quite well in this refreshed context.’
  • ‘This 17-track collection features the Irish songs, ballads and lyrical legacy of colonial rule in Ireland.’
  • ‘I ask Kelly if he has ever been embarrassed by singing a song due to its naked lyrical content.’
  • ‘Of course, when you listen to the record, you're left with more questions than answers, as the lyrical content is just as ambiguous as the song titles.’
  • ‘Further into the record, the band invests in smaller details, and when it does the songs overcome the lyrical shortcomings.’
  • ‘If you're a fan of Les Claypool and his odd lyrical content and vocal styling, as well as great song writing, you will need to own this album.’
  • ‘That stuff has given us more lyrical and song-based songs.’
  • ‘These songs have a deceptive lyrical vacuity that hints at greater depths, but leaves them to the listener to consider.’
  • ‘The Swordsmen's techno knob fiddling adds an effective acid house wash to the song's coy lyrical interplay.’
  • ‘The lyrical viewpoint of the song is bracing rather than saccharine or whiny.’