pōˈed.]ik, -et], ]ēk\ adjective
Etymology: Middle French poetique, from Latin poeticus, from Greek poiētikos capable of making, creative, poetic, from poiētēs maker, composer, poet + -ikos -ic — more at poet
1.
a. : of or relating to poets : appropriate to or characteristic of poets
the personality truly and naturally poetic seems to be becoming rarer — Edmund Wilson
had no poetic talents at all — Times Literary Supplement
a poetic face
b. : given to or occupied with poetry
a poetic plowman
a poetic family
2.
a. : written in verse
a poetic version of his earlier prose drama
did a poetic paraphrase of the speech
b. : of, relating to, or suitable for poetry or poems
a poetic renaissance
his small poetic output
a poetic subject
3. : having or expressing the qualities of poetry
poetic movements of the whole body — G.B.Shaw
this essentially poetic mode of thought — Kathleen Raine
a darkly poetic architectural scene — Carlyle Burrows
4. : stilted and artificial in diction or style
the prose is poetic in the bad sense — M.D.Geismar
uses the literary and always poetic phrase — New York Herald Tribune Book Review