Lyrical describes writing or speech that flows beautifully, like the words in a song. When someone writes in a lyrical way, their sentences have a musical quality, with rhythm and feeling woven through them. Poetry is often lyrical, but so can be a passage in a novel that describes moonlight on water or wind moving through trees.

Today, the lyrics of a song are its words, and something lyrical carries that same singing, emotional quality even when you read it silently.

You might read a lyrical description of autumn that makes you almost hear leaves rustling and feel crisp air, even though you're sitting inside. Writers like Frances Hodgson Burnett, the author of The Secret Garden, use lyrical language to make gardens and moors come alive on the page. When a teacher says your writing is lyrical, they mean your words flow smoothly and create feeling, not just information.

The word can also describe music itself. A violin solo might be lyrical if it's expressive and song-like rather than harsh or mechanical. In ballet, lyrical dance combines flowing movements with emotional expression, moving the way beautiful words might sound if they could dance.