Phrase guide

Shakespearean sonnet

noun · 2 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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1

noun

Meaning 1

A sonnet comprising three quatrains and a final couplet, in iambic pentameter with the rhyme scheme of abab cdcd efef gg.

Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract

Topics: communications, journalism, literature, media, poetry, publishing, writing

No example sentence was provided for this meaning.

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: Elizabethan sonnet, English sonnet

Antonyms: none provided

2

noun

Meaning 2

a sonnet consisting three quatrains and a concluding couplet in iambic pentameter with the rhyme pattern abab cdcd efef gg

Definition source: Princeton WordNet 3.0

No example sentence was provided for this meaning.

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: Elizabethan sonnet, English sonnet

Antonyms: none provided

Broader terms: sonnet

History

Etymology

Named after English playwright and poet William Shakespeare (1564–1616) and strongly associated with his authorship.

Across languages

Translations

55 source translations are retained for this English entry.

  • Armenian: անգլիական սոնետ (angliakan sonet) — type of sonnet
  • Belarusian: шэ́кспіраў сане́т (šékspiraw sanjét) — type of sonnet
  • Bengali: ইংরেজী চতুর্দশপদী (iṅreji coturdośpodi) — type of sonnet
  • Bulgarian: англи́йски соне́т (anglíjski sonét) — type of sonnet
  • Bulgarian: елизабетински сонет (elizabetinski sonet) — type of sonnet
  • Bulgarian: ше́кспировски соне́т (šékspirovski sonét) — type of sonnet
  • Gan Chinese: 莎士比亞式十四行詩 /莎士比亚式十四行诗 — type of sonnet
  • Chinese Mandarin: 英國十四行詩 /英国十四行诗 (Yīngguó shísì hángshī) — type of sonnet
  • Czech: anglický sonet — type of sonnet
  • Danish: engelske sonet — type of sonnet
  • Dutch: Engels sonnet — type of sonnet
  • Dutch: shakespeariaans sonnet — type of sonnet
  • Esperanto: ŝekspira soneto — type of sonnet
  • Estonian: inglise sonett — type of sonnet
  • Estonian: Shakespeare'i sonett — type of sonnet
  • Finnish: englantilainen sonetti — type of sonnet
  • French: sonnet shakespearien — type of sonnet
  • French: sonnet anglais — type of sonnet
  • Galician: soneto inglés — type of sonnet
  • Georgian: ინგლისური სონეტი (inglisuri soneṭi) — type of sonnet
  • German: Shakespeare-Sonett — type of sonnet
  • German: englishes Sonett — type of sonnet
  • German: elisabethanisches Sonett — type of sonnet
  • Greek: αγγλικό σονέτο (anglikó sonéto) — type of sonnet
  • Greek: σαιξπηρικό σονέτο (saixpirikó sonéto) — type of sonnet
  • Hungarian: angol szonett — type of sonnet
  • Hungarian: shakespeare-i szonett — type of sonnet
  • Italian: sonetto shakespeariano — type of sonnet
  • Italian: sonetto scespiriano — type of sonnet
  • Japanese: イギリス風ソネット (Igirisu-fū sonetto) — type of sonnet
  • Japanese: シェイクスピア風ソネット (Sheikusupia-fū sonetto) — type of sonnet
  • Korean: 셰익스피어 소네트 (Syeikseupieo soneteu) — type of sonnet
  • Latin: sonētum Shākespēriānum — type of sonnet
  • Latvian: Šekspīra sonets — type of sonnet
  • Limburgish: Ingels sonnèt — type of sonnet
  • Lithuanian: angliškas sonetas — type of sonnet
  • Lithuanian: Šekspyriškas sonetas — type of sonnet
  • Malayalam: ഇംഗ്ലീഷ് ഗീതകം (iṅglīṣŭ gītakaṁ) — type of sonnet
  • Norwegian: engelsk sonett — type of sonnet
  • Polish: sonet szekspirowski — type of sonnet
  • Portuguese: soneto inglês — type of sonnet
  • Portuguese: soneto shakespeariano — type of sonnet
  • Romanian: sonet englezesc — type of sonnet
  • Russian: англи́йский соне́т (anglíjskij sonét) — type of sonnet
  • Russian: шекспи́ровский соне́т (šekspírovskij sonét) — type of sonnet
  • Serbo-Croatian: шѐкспӣрскӣ со̀не̄т — type of sonnet
  • Serbo-Croatian: ѐнгле̄скӣ со̀не̄т — type of sonnet
  • Serbo-Croatian: šèkspīrskī sònēt — type of sonnet
  • Serbo-Croatian: ènglēskī sònēt — type of sonnet
  • Slovene: anglẹ̑ški sonẹ̑t — type of sonnet
  • Spanish: soneto inglés — type of sonnet
  • Spanish: soneto shakespeariano — type of sonnet
  • Spanish: soneto isabelino — type of sonnet
  • Swedish: engelsk sonett — type of sonnet
  • Turkish: İngiliz sone — type of sonnet