Phrase guide

poetic licence

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

Pronunciation

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No pronunciation record was provided for this word.

1

noun

Meaning 1

Any departure from convention or from factual accuracy taken by a writer to achieve a desired effect.

Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract

Usage: uncountable

No example sentence was provided for this meaning.

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: none provided

Antonyms: none provided

History

Etymology

No etymology was provided for this word.

Across languages

Translations

18 source translations are retained for this English entry.

  • Afrikaans: digterlike vryheid — departure from convention
  • Arabic: ضَرُورَة شِعْرِيَّة — departure from convention
  • Catalan: llicència poètica — departure from convention
  • Chinese Mandarin: 詩人的許可 /诗人的许可 (shīrén de xǔkě) — departure from convention
  • Chinese Mandarin: 藝術加工 /艺术加工 (yìshù jiāgōng) — departure from convention
  • Chinese Mandarin: 文學誇張 /文学夸张 (wénxué kuāzhāng) — departure from convention
  • Chinese Mandarin: 創作自由 /创作自由 (chuàngzuò zìyóu) — departure from convention
  • Finnish: runollinen vapaus — departure from convention
  • French: licence poétique — departure from convention
  • Icelandic: skáldaleyfi — departure from convention
  • Irish: pribhléid an fhile — departure from convention
  • Italian: licenza poetica — departure from convention
  • Latin: poētica licentia — departure from convention
  • Polish: licentia poetica — departure from convention
  • Portuguese: licença poética — departure from convention
  • Romanian: licență poetică — departure from convention
  • Russian: поэти́ческая во́льность (poetíčeskaja vólʹnostʹ) — departure from convention
  • Spanish: licencia poética — departure from convention