literary
literary — adjective
1. connected with written works of art such as novels, plays, and poetry that peopl
connected with written works of art such as novels, plays, and poetry that people value for their beauty or ideas.
Yan is writing a literary analysis of three Canadian novels for her final university project.
collocation: literary analysis
The literary festival in Taipei attracts authors and poets from across East Asia every spring.
collocation: literary festival
Meera won a prize for her essay on magical realism in Latin American literary works.
Hugo borrowed a collection of literary essays from the library for his research paper.
- scholarly
focuses on academic study rather than artistic value of literature
- artistic
broader — includes visual arts, music, and performance, not only written works
- intellectual
emphasises ideas and thinking rather than the form of written works
文法句型
literary + noun (e.g. literary work, literary criticism, literary festival)
用法筆記
Frequently appears before nouns describing things connected to literature — works, criticism, theory, festivals, awards, magazines. The predicative use (This novel is very literary) is possible but less common than the attributive use.
常見錯誤
2. describes language or writing that is typical of formal artistic literature rath
describes language or writing that is typical of formal artistic literature rather than ordinary everyday speech.
The mayor's speech sounded too literary for the crowd of factory workers and shop owners.
too literary — adverb + adjective pattern expressing excess
Kwame's writing style is highly literary, with long sentences and rich nature descriptions.
highly literary — intensifying adverb + adjective
Élise prefers plain everyday language in her emails and avoids anything too literary.
Ari found the novel too literary, with long descriptions that slowed down the story.
- colloquial
describes language used in ordinary conversation rather than in formal writing
- informal
describes relaxed, everyday language without literary features
文法句型
be/look/sound/seem + literary
用法筆記
Often carries a contrastive tone — comparing formal literary expression with simpler, more direct speech. When used with 'too' or 'overly', it can imply criticism: the writing feels unnatural or unnecessarily elaborate for the context.
常見錯誤
3. describes a person who has read a wide range of literature and knows a lot about
describes a person who has read a wide range of literature and knows a lot about books and authors.
Andrew is very literary and can discuss authors from ancient Greece to modern Japan.
very literary + can discuss — describing a person's reading knowledge
Ramón comes from a literary family where debating novels at dinner is normal.
literary family — attributive use describing a group
The teacher recommended Emre for the exchange programme because he is so literary.
Iker impressed the book club with his literary knowledge of 19th-century Russian novels.
- unread
direct opposite — someone who has not read much
- illiterate
much stronger — unable to read; not a direct antonym in most contexts
文法句型
be + literary (about a person)
用法筆記
Most natural in predicative position (She is very literary). Attributive use with family, household, or person is acceptable but less common. The meaning overlaps with 'well-read', but literary carries a stronger implication of formal, classic literature rather than casual reading.