Basic Details
Word: Poetic
Part of Speech: Adjective
Meaning: Like poetry, or beautiful and full of feeling in the way a good poem is.
Synonyms: lyrical, expressive, artistic
Antonyms: prosaic, plain
How to Spell Poetic
Syllables: po - et - ic
Tricky part: The o and e sit side by side (poe), and the ending is ic with no k. Students sometimes swap the vowels (peotic).
Watch out for: poettic, poetick, peotic, poatic
Memory tip: Write the whole word poet first, then add ic. Nothing changes in poet.
Idioms and Phrases
- poetic licence: the freedom a writer takes to change facts or rules to create an effect Example: "The poet used poetic licence and made the river sing."
Usage Examples
Example 1: Her description of the misty Nilgiri hills was almost poetic.
Example 2: The old song has a poetic line about the moon resting on the lake.
Example 3: Grandmother speaks in a poetic way when she tells stories about her village.
Fun Fact
The word poet comes from Greek poietes, which meant a maker or creator.
Practise the CREST Way
Word Makeup
Only one of these words takes the ending ic to make a new word. Choose it.
ic
a) sing
b) rhyme
c) poet
d) write
Show answer
c) poet. Poet + ic gives poetic; none of the other three makes a word with ic.
Word Connection
Choose the synonym of the word poetic as used in the sentence:
The guide gave a poetic account of the sunset over the desert.
a) careless
b) short
c) dull
d) lyrical
Show answer
d) lyrical. Lyrical means expressing feeling beautifully, as a poem does.
Mingle-Mangle
Rearrange the jumbled letters in the sentence to find the right word:
The ballad was written in a soft, eoctip style that suited the old love story.
a) optic
b) exotic
c) poetic
d) cosmetic
Show answer
c) poetic. Optic is one letter short, and exotic and cosmetic need letters such as x, s and m.
Multiple Choice Questions
1. Poetic justice is when ____.
a) a judge writes a book of poems
b) a law is written in rhyme
c) a poet wins a case in court
d) a wrongdoer is punished in a fitting way
Show answer
d) a wrongdoer is punished in a fitting way
2. Which line sounds most poetic?
a) The box weighs nearly two kilograms.
b) The bus leaves at six every morning.
c) Please pay the bill before Friday.
d) The silver moon slept on the quiet lake.
Show answer
d) The silver moon slept on the quiet lake.
