Definition

1. Adjective:
   • Relating to or characteristic of literature: Pertaining to the art of written works, especially those considered to have artistic or intellectual value.
   • Appropriate to literature rather than everyday speech or writing: Using language, style, or expressions that are typical of formal writing or esteemed books, not casual conversation.
   • Knowledgeable about literature: Having a deep familiarity with or being well-read in literary works.

Examples of Usage

• Adjective:
  • The novel is praised for its high literary quality. (The novel is praised for its artistic merit as a written work.)
  • His speech was full of literary allusions. (His speech contained many references to famous books or writers.)
  • She comes from a very literary family. (Her family is deeply involved in or knowledgeable about literature.)

Advanced Usage

• "literary criticism": The analysis, interpretation, and evaluation of literary works.
  • He specializes in 19th-century literary criticism.
• "literary device": A technique used in writing to produce a specific effect, such as a metaphor or simile.
  • The author's use of irony is a clever literary device.
• "literary agent": A person who represents writers and their works to publishers.
  • The aspiring novelist is looking for a literary agent.

Variants and Related Words

• Literarily (adverb): In a way that relates to literature or a literary style.
  • The essay is written very literarily, with complex syntax.
• Literariness (noun): The quality of being literary.
  • Scholars debate the literariness of certain popular texts.

Synonyms

• Bookish: Fond of or devoted to reading and studying.
• Erudite: Having or showing great knowledge or learning.
• Scholarly: Involving or relating to serious academic study.

Antonyms

• Colloquial: Used in ordinary or familiar conversation; not formal or literary.
• Vernacular: The language or dialect spoken by the ordinary people in a particular country or region.
• Prosaic: Having the style or diction of prose; lacking poetic beauty; commonplace.

Related Phrases and Idioms

• Literary license: The freedom a writer or artist takes to deviate from standard form or fact to create a desired effect.
  • The poet took some literary license with historical dates.
• Literary canon: A body of books, narratives, and other texts considered to be the most important and influential in a culture or tradition.
  • Debates often arise about which authors belong in the literary canon.

Adjective

1. appropriate to literature rather than everyday speech or writing
   • when trying to impress someone she spoke in an affected literary style
2. knowledgeable about literature
   • a literary style
3. of or relating to or characteristic of literature
   • literary criticism