Phrase guide

literary theory

noun · 1 senses · updated from the 2026-07-25 local source snapshot

Definitions and examples are grouped by meaning. Pronunciation, history, word forms, translations, descendants, synonyms, antonyms, derived terms, and related words appear whenever the source provides them.

Sound

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1

noun

Meaning 1

The theory or the philosophy of the interpretation of literature and literary criticism

Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract

Usage: uncountable

Topics: literature, media, publishing

No example sentence was provided for this meaning.

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: none provided

Antonyms: none provided

History

Etymology

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Across languages

Translations

12 source translations are retained for this English entry.

  • Chinese Mandarin: 文學理論 /文学理论 (wénxué lǐlùn) — theory
  • Chinese Mandarin: 文藝理論 /文艺理论 (wényì lǐlùn) — theory
  • Chinese Mandarin: 文論 /文论 (wénlùn) — theory
  • Czech: literární teorie — theory
  • Finnish: kirjallisuusteoria — theory
  • French: théorie de la littérature — theory
  • German: Literaturtheorie — theory
  • Hungarian: irodalomelmélet — theory
  • Malayalam: സാഹിത്യ സിദ്ധാന്തം (sāhitya siddhāntaṁ) — theory
  • Polish: teoria literatury — theory
  • Russian: литерату́рная тео́рия (literatúrnaja teórija) — theory
  • Swahili: nadharia ya fasihi — theory