painterly

adjective

paint·​er·​ly ˈpān-tər-lē How to pronounce painterly (audio)
1
: of, relating to, or typical of a painter : artistic
painterly attention to detail
2
: suggestive or characteristic of a painting or of the art of painting
painterly photography
especially : marked by an openness of form which is not linear and in which sharp outlines are lacking
painterly brushwork
painterliness noun

Examples of painterly in a Sentence

He has a painterly eye. a painterly picture of the sea
Recent Examples on the Web
Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
The block print tablecloth is the smallest pattern, the painterly napkin is the largest one, and the raffia placemat falls somewhere in between. Amy Panos, Better Homes & Gardens, 10 Dec. 2024 Related Articles Subtle references to the local landscape are embedded in the collection, in the use of precious natural fibers including royal vicuna wool, and the painterly palette of cochineal red, indigo blue, golden yellow, gray and green. Martino Carrera, WWD, 2 Dec. 2024 The literal collaging in her work complements and sometimes contradicts her purely painterly juxtapositions. Barry Schwabsky, ARTnews.com, 5 Nov. 2024 Izumo at once conjures a watery horizon and the painterly glaze of a ceramic pot; Rhea and Kasos reference Japanese shibori dye; Caspia, covered in leafy fronds, and Moth Weave both feel ever so Art Nouveau. Hannah Martin, Architectural Digest, 16 Oct. 2024 See all Example Sentences for painterly 

Word History

First Known Use

circa 1586, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Time Traveler
The first known use of painterly was circa 1586

Dictionary Entries Near painterly

Cite this Entry

“Painterly.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/painterly. Accessed 21 Dec. 2024.

Last Updated: - Updated example sentences
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