Meanings
comparative more belletristic · superlative most belletristic
- Of, pertaining to, or having the characteristics of belles-lettres.
The guest list was a roll call of belletristic London.
2002, Joseph O'Connor, Star of the Sea, Vintage, published 2003, page 2291 more example
[…] if they do not owe their allegiance to shamanism or Buddhism, then most surely they commit themselves to some perverse form of Confucianism or belletristic foolishness.
1986, Aizawa Seishisai (Translated by Bob Tadashi Wakabayashi), Anti-Foreignism and Western Learning in Early-Modern Japan: The New Theses of 1825, Harvard University Press, page 169 - Written or appreciated for aesthetic value rather than content
I had already concluded that not one of my writings was publishable, having myself analyzed the faults of my belletristic production.
1992, Isaac Bashevis Singer (Translated by Leonard Wolf), The Certificate, Farrar Straus Giroux, page 1
Synonyms & antonyms
adjectivewritten and regarded for aesthetic value rather than content
Synonym sets from Open English WordNet, CC BY 4.0.
Origin
Translations
German belletristisch, schöngeistig
- belletristischpertaining to belles-lettres
- schöngeistigpertaining to belles-lettres
Hungarian szépirodalmi
- szépirodalmipertaining to belles-lettres
Polish beletrystyczny
- beletrystycznypertaining to belles-lettres
Cite this entry
belletristic. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 4, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/belletristic
“belletristic.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/belletristic. Accessed November 4, 2026.
WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “belletristic,” accessed November 4, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/belletristic.
Source: belletristic on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.