poet

noun

ˈpō-ət How to pronounce poet (audio)
Definition of poetnext
as in minstrel
a person who writes poetry Emily Dickinson is famous as the poet who rarely left the house but often journeyed to the depths of the human heart

Synonyms & Similar Words

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Example Sentences

Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
Recent Examples of poet He is often understood, rightly and wrongly, as a kind of unfiltered confessional poet. — Literary Hub, 27 Aug. 2026 At Hull’s railway station an hour or so later, a few Manchester United fans are scanning the departures board near Philip Larkin’s statue, which captures the late poet mid-stride. — George Caulkin, New York Times, 25 Aug. 2026 Simeon’s Corey Randolph is a big guy with the soul of a poet and the hands of a sculptor. — Patrick Z. McGavin, Chicago Tribune, 25 Aug. 2026 But the group had learned of the Phantom Orchestra, a group in Tbilisi, the capital of what is now Georgia, composed of musicians, poets and activists who had been barred from leaving the Soviet Union. — Maura Fox, San Diego Union-Tribune, 22 Aug. 2026 See All Example Sentences for poet
Recent Examples of Synonyms for poet
  1. minstrel
  2. muse
  3. bard
Noun
  • Target recently received backlash for 'offensive' Halloween costume This comes on the heels of Target apologizing in late August for a Halloween circus clown costume that critics said appeared to conjure Blackface and 19th-century minstrel shows.
    — Gabe Hauari, USA Today, 3 Sep. 2026
  • Davis shared her thoughts alongside a side-by-side comparison of the costume with 19th-century minstrel imagery, which perpetuated racist stereotypes about Black Americans and involved the use of blackface.
    — Daysia Tolentino, Entertainment Weekly, 27 Aug. 2026
Definition of minstrel
Noun
  • While On The Rocks does serve whiskey on the rocks, a mignon menu dish is actually the muse behind the moniker.
    — Ella Gonzales, Fort Worth Star-Telegram, 3 Sep. 2026
  • His front row was the stuff of fashion mythology, the kind of group that could only be summoned by a muse collector of Ackermann’s caliber.
    — José Criales-Unzueta, Vanity Fair, 2 Sep. 2026
Definition of muse
Noun
  • Before it was written down, bards recited the adventures of Odysseus and the Greeks orally.
    — Margherita Bassi, Popular Science, 19 Aug. 2026
  • Nolan sets the tone by opening with a bard (Travis Scott) beginning to tell the tale of the fall of Troy—at least the idealized heroic version that the bard’s audiences are hungry to hear.
    — ArsTechnica, ArsTechnica, 1 Aug. 2026
Definition of bard

Browse Nearby Words

poesy
poet
poetaster
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Cite this Entry

“Poet.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/poet. Accessed 5 Sep. 2026.

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More from Merriam-Webster on poet

Britannica.com: Encyclopedia article about poet

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