man of letters

noun phrase

Synonyms of man of lettersnext
1
2
: author

Examples of man of letters in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web
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Mann has been invited to commemorate the 200th anniversary of the birth of Goethe, Germany’s greatest man of letters. Anthony D'alessandro, Deadline, 15 May 2026 And what of the gently curmudgeonly man of letters who runs an after-school study room for children, tutoring them in everything from multiplication tables to Victor Hugo? Justin Chang, New Yorker, 27 Feb. 2026 Prestigious man of letters Sheridan Whiteside (Monty Woolley) spills down the snowy front steps at the home of a small-town family, the Stanleys — where he's planned a promo dinner in Mesalia, Ohio, right around the holidays. Gwen Ihnat, Entertainment Weekly, 12 Dec. 2025 But Levy is many other things, including a man of letters (with a master’s degree in English from Harvard) who enlisted in the U.S. Air Force in 1943. Kansas City Star, 12 Sep. 2025 Borders Abbey Towns Preposterously beautiful, this is where Sir Walter Scott—Scotland’s man of letters and author of Rob Roy and Ivanhoe—waxed lyrical. Mike MacEacheran, Condé Nast Traveler, 8 Sep. 2025 Marty is an erudite man of letters who has long wanted to meet one of his favorite writers. Alan Sepinwall, Rolling Stone, 4 Sep. 2025 Kitty was one of those who disapproved of the young Stephen siblings’ move to Bloomsbury in 1904 after the death of their father, the eminent late-Victorian man of letters Sir Leslie Stephen. Literary Hub, 14 May 2025

Word History

First Known Use

1645, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Time Traveler
The first known use of man of letters was in 1645

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Cite this Entry

“Man of letters.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/man%20of%20letters. Accessed 21 May. 2026.

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