Definitions Related words Phrases Mentions Lyrics History

Literary notes about vagrant (AI summary)

The term “vagrant” is used in literature in a number of versatile ways, often to evoke a sense of wandering, instability, or marginalization. At times it designates a physically homeless or itinerant individual, as seen in portrayals of tramps and beggars whose lifestyles are marked by restlessness and societal exclusion ([1], [2], [3]). In other contexts, “vagrant” describes an abstract, unfocused state of mind or spirit—suggesting a quality of being unsettled or lacking organization ([4], [5], [6]). Moreover, the word is extended metaphorically to depict transient natural phenomena and even inanimate objects, imbuing them with a sense of fleeting, unpredictable movement ([7], [8], [9]). In this way, “vagrant” serves as a powerful descriptor, connecting both physical roaming and metaphorical aimlessness within literary narratives.
  1. “O good sir, peradventure you mean the ragged regal vagrant that tarried here the night.
    — from The Prince and the Pauper by Mark Twain
  2. "Then I'll die in the streets!" says the vagrant.
    — from Oliver Twist by Charles Dickens
  3. And upon what ground could you procure such a thing to be done?—a vagrant, is he?
    — from Bartleby, the Scrivener: A Story of Wall-Street by Herman Melville
  4. But tonight he could not repress his vagrant mind.
    — from The Moghul by Thomas Hoover
  5. My thinking on the subject was casual, vagrant, unorganized.
    — from Recollections of a Varied Life by George Cary Eggleston
  6. Cameron's vagrant mind, suddenly recalled, responded with a quick assent.
    — from Corporal Cameron of the North West Mounted Police: A Tale of the Macleod Trail by Ralph Connor
  7. A dead, useless metal statue, a scarecrow for the vagrant birds that might pass by.
    — from The Tarn of Eternity by Frank Tymon
  8. The vagrant zephyrs touch the fallen leaves more noisily than his soft pads press them.
    — from In New England Fields and Woods by Rowland Evans Robinson
  9. A vagrant breeze whispered in the valley sedges to the placid lake.
    — from Deep Furrows by Herbert Joseph Moorhouse

More usage examples

Also see: Google, News, Images, Wikipedia, Reddit, BlueSky


Home   Reverse Dictionary / Thesaurus   Datamuse   Word games   Spruce   Feedback   Dark mode   Random word   Help


Color thesaurus

Use OneLook to find colors for words and words for colors

See an example

Literary notes

Use OneLook to learn how words are used by great writers

See an example

Word games

Try our innovative vocabulary games

Play Now

Read the latest OneLook newsletter issue: Threepeat Redux