Literary Words
These words are used mainly, or with a special meaning, in poetry and other writing in an elevated, ‘literary’ style.
A
| abode |
a home |
| access |
an outburst of an emotion |
| adieu |
goodbye |
| afar |
at a distance |
| apace |
quickly |
| argosy |
a large merchant ship |
| arrant |
utter |
| asunder |
into pieces |
| atrabilious |
melancholy or badtempered |
| aurora |
the dawn |
| bard |
a poet |
B
| barque |
a boat |
| bedizen |
dress gaudily |
| beget |
produce (a child) |
| behold |
see |
| beseech |
ask urgently and fervently |
| bestrew |
scatter |
| betake |
go to oneself |
| betide |
happen |
| betoken |
be a warning of |
| blithe |
happy |
| bosky |
covered by trees or bushes |
| brand |
a sword |
| brume |
mist or fog |
C
| celerity |
swiftness |
| circumvallate |
surround with a rampart or wall |
| clarion |
loud and clear |
| cleave |
to stick fast to |
| cockcrow |
dawn |
| coruscate |
flash or sparkle |
| crapulent |
relating to the drinking of alcohol |
D
| crescent |
growing |
| darkling |
relating to growing darkness |
| deep, the |
the sea |
| dell |
a small valley |
| dingle |
a deep wooded valley |
| divers |
of varying types |
| Dives |
a rich man |
| dolour |
great sorrow |
| dome |
a stately building |
| dulcify |
sweeten |
E
| effulgent |
shining brightly |
| eld |
old age |
| eminence |
a piece of rising ground |
| empyrean |
the sky |
| ere |
before |
| erne |
a sea eagle |
| espy |
catch sight of |
| ether |
the clear sky |
| evanescent |
quickly fading |
F
| farewell |
goodbye |
| fervid |
hot or glowing |
| fidus Achates |
a faithful friend |
| finny |
relating to fish |
| firmament |
the sky |
| flaxen |
pale yellow |
| fleer |
jeer or laugh disrespectfully |
| flexuous |
full of bends and curves |
| fulgent |
shining brightly |
| fulguration |
a flash like lightning |
| fuliginous |
sooty; dusky |
| fulminate |
explode violently |
| furbelow |
adorn with trimmings |
G
| gird |
secure with a belt |
| glaive |
a sword |
| gloaming |
dusk |
| greensward |
grassy ground |
| gyre |
whirl or gyrate |
H
| hark |
listen |
| horripilation |
gooseflesh; hair standing on end |
| hymeneal |
relating to marriage |
I
| ichor |
blood, or a fluid likened to it |
| illude |
trick someone |
| imbrue |
stain one’s hand or sword with blood |
| impuissant |
powerless |
| incarnadine |
colour (something) crimson |
| ingrate |
an ungrateful person |
| inhume |
bury |
| inly |
inwardly |
| ire |
anger |
| isle |
an island |
K
| knell |
the sound of a bell |
L
| lachrymal |
connected with weeping or tears |
| lacustrine |
associated with lakes |
| lambent |
softly glowing or flickering |
| lave |
wash or wash over |
| lay |
a song |
| lea |
an area of grassy land |
| lenity |
kindness or gentleness |
| limn |
represent in painting or words |
| lithesome |
lithe |
| lucent |
shining |
M
| madding |
acting madly; frenzied |
| mage |
a magician or learned person |
| main, the |
the open ocean |
| malefic |
causing harm |
| manifold |
many and various |
| marge |
a margin |
| mead |
a meadow |
| mephitic |
foul-smelling |
| mere |
a lake or pond |
| moon |
a month |
| morrow, the |
the following day |
| muliebrity |
womanliness |
N
| nescient |
lacking knowledge; ignorant |
| nigh |
near |
| niveous |
snowy |
| nocuous |
noxious, harmful, or poisonous |
| noisome |
foul-smelling |
| nymph |
a beautiful young woman |
O
| orb |
an eye |
| orgulous |
proud or haughty |
P
| pellucid |
translucent |
| perchance |
by some chance |
| perfervid |
intense and impassioned |
| perfidious |
deceitful and untrustworthy |
| philippic |
a bitter verbal attack |
| plangent |
loud and mournful |
| plash |
a splashing sound |
| plenteous |
plentiful |
| plumbless |
extremely deep |
| poesy |
poetry |
| prothalamium |
a song or poem celebrating a wedding |
| puissant |
powerful or influential |
| pulchritude |
beauty |
| purl |
flow with a babbling sound |
Q
| quidnunc |
an inquisitive and gossipy person |
R
| realm |
a kingdom |
| refulgent |
shining brightly |
| rend |
tear to pieces |
| repine |
be discontented |
| Rhadamanthine |
stern and incorruptible in judgement |
| roundelay |
a short, simple song with a refrain |
| rubescent |
reddening |
| rutilant |
glowing or glittering with red or golden light |
S
| sans |
without |
| scribe |
write |
| sea-girt |
surrounded by sea |
| sempiternal |
everlasting |
| serpent |
a snake |
| shade |
a ghost |
| ship of the desert |
a camel |
| shore |
country by the sea |
| slay |
kill |
| slumber |
sleep |
| star-crossed |
ill-fated |
| steed |
a horse |
| stilly |
still and quiet |
| storied |
celebrated in stories |
| strand |
a shore |
| Stygian |
very dark |
| summer |
a year of a person’s age |
| supernal |
relating to the sky or the heavens |
| susurration |
a whispering or rustling wound |
| swain |
a young lover or suitor |
| sword, the |
military power; violence |
| sylvan |
wooded |
T
| tarry |
delay leaving |
| temerarious |
rash or reckless |
| tenebrous |
dark; shadowy |
| threescore |
sixty |
| thrice |
three times |
| tidings |
news; information |
| toilsome |
involving hard work |
| tope |
drink alcohol to excess |
| travail |
painful or laborious effort |
| troublous |
full of troubles |
| tryst |
a rendezvous between lovers |
U
| unman |
deprive of manly qualities |
V
| vestal |
chaste; pure |
| vesture |
clothing |
| virescent |
greenish |
| viridescent |
greenish or becoming green |
| visage |
a person’s face |
W
| want |
lack or be short of |
| wax |
become larger or stronger |
| wayfarer |
a person who travels on foot |
| wed |
marry |
| welkin, the |
the sky or heaven |
| whited sepulchre |
a hypocrite |
| wind |
blow (a bugle) |
| without |
outside |
| wondrous |
inspiring wonder |
| wont |
accustomed |
| wonted |
usual |
| wrathful |
extremely angry |
| wreathe |
twist or entwine |
Y
| yon |
yonder; that |
| yore |
of former ties or long ago |
| youngling |
a young person or animal |
Z
| zephyr |
a soft, gentle breeze |