Search

possessing the qualities or charm of :
poetic descriptions of nature.
of or relating to a or .
characteristic of or befitting a :
poetic feeling; poetic insight.
endowed with the faculty or feeling of a :
a poetic eulogist.
having or showing the sensibility of a :
a poetic lover.
of or relating to :
poetic literature.
of the nature of or resembling :
a poetic composition; poetic drama; poetic imagination.
celebrated in , as a place.
providing a subject for .
of or relating to literature in verse form.
.
Contemporary Examples

Orpheus also contains within himself two sides of the poetic character.
Ann Wroe’s ‘Orpheus’: Why the Mythological Muse Haunts Us Ann Wroe May 30, 2012

There are also pieces that belong in the show only by poetic association.
The Original Sexy Beast Anthony Haden-Guest July 1, 2009

And I think [Gould] was guilty of using a poetic language to conflate those three kinds of episodic changes.
Rediscovering Richard Dawkins: An Interview J.P. O’Malley September 22, 2013

Every designer deserves a degree of poetic license, leeway to shock and provoke.
Paris Fall 2012 Fashion Week: Are Designers Bashing Women? Robin Givhan March 1, 2012

“I think there’s something so much more beautiful and soaring and poetic to the story of Issie’s life,” she says.
The War Over Isabella Blow Rebecca Dana November 17, 2010

Historical Examples

At this point we begin to see just what is the function of Homer who has inherited a vast mass of poetic material.
Homer’s Odyssey Denton J. Snider

“poetic simile: I’m going fast,” conceded Kirkwood; but he did not smile.
The Black Bag Louis Joseph Vance

Campbell has it against Byron, that “the poetic temperament is incompatible with matrimonial felicity.”
The Mirror of Literature, Amusement, and Instruction. Various

I might, perhaps, have some poetic flights, If I could sleep o’ nights!
Punchinello, Vol. 1, No. 12, June 18, 1870 Various

His mixture of grace and shrewdness, poetic charm and worldly wisdom, we find nowhere else.
The Booklover and His Books Harry Lyman Koopman

adjective
of or relating to poetry
characteristic of poetry, as in being elevated, sublime, etc
characteristic of a poet
recounted in verse
adj.

1520s, from poet + -ic, or else from or influenced by Middle French poetique (c.1400), from Latin poeticus, from Greek poietikos “pertaining to poetry,” literally “creative, productive,” from poietos “made,” verbal adjective of poiein “to make” (see poet). Related: Poetics (1727). Poetic justice “ideal justice as portrayed in plays and stories” is from 1670s. Poetic license attested by 1733.

Earlier adjective was poetical (late 14c.); also obsolete poetly (mid-15c.). Related: Poetically (early 15c.).