as in impressionistic
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Recent Examples of expressionistic
The production works best when the play’s expressionistic flourishes invite theatergoers to consider more deeply the subjective experiences and societal subtexts that are being externalized.
—
Theater Critic, Los Angeles Times, 18 Mar. 2026
Perhaps a more perverse, expressionistic route is required.
—David Fear, Rolling Stone, 11 Feb. 2026
Like a director manning a film dolly, Kehlmann pans from one perspective to another—including those of Greta Garbo and Louise Brooks, two glamorous actors whom Pabst discovered—to give an expressionistic sense of the people and the forces shaping his life.
—The Atlantic, 4 Dec. 2025
In nearly all these cases, there remains a sense of the uncanny, which makes the more recent works in the restaged show noteworthy for their comparably insistent, sometimes expressionistic representation of a warped realism.
—Tim Griffin, Artforum, 1 Dec. 2025
Van Hove and Versweyveld share a sensibility that manages to embrace both expressionistic minimalism and a penchant for showmanship, sometimes in the same setting.
—Demetrios Matheou, HollywoodReporter, 22 Nov. 2025
Eiichi Yamamoto’s expressionistic picture, adapted from Jules Michelet’s non-fiction Satanism and Witchcraft, initially seems to be a rape-revenge setup fairly typical of the ’70s.
—Declan Gallagher, Entertainment Weekly, 30 Oct. 2025
The first major Frankenstein film liberally adapts the source material, but in lieu of staging the novel as written, James Whale leans into expressionistic production design and Gothic spectacle.
—Rory Doherty, Vulture, 20 Oct. 2025
If earlier iterations of the lesbian vampire film were Gothic and ornate, Nadja is more shoegaze, captured on bleary black-and-white videotape with an expressionistic flair.
—Samantha Allen, Them., 7 Oct. 2025
Theater Critic, Los Angeles Times, 18 Mar. 2026
Perhaps a more perverse, expressionistic route is required.
—David Fear, Rolling Stone, 11 Feb. 2026
Like a director manning a film dolly, Kehlmann pans from one perspective to another—including those of Greta Garbo and Louise Brooks, two glamorous actors whom Pabst discovered—to give an expressionistic sense of the people and the forces shaping his life.
—The Atlantic, 4 Dec. 2025
In nearly all these cases, there remains a sense of the uncanny, which makes the more recent works in the restaged show noteworthy for their comparably insistent, sometimes expressionistic representation of a warped realism.
—Tim Griffin, Artforum, 1 Dec. 2025
Van Hove and Versweyveld share a sensibility that manages to embrace both expressionistic minimalism and a penchant for showmanship, sometimes in the same setting.
—Demetrios Matheou, HollywoodReporter, 22 Nov. 2025
Eiichi Yamamoto’s expressionistic picture, adapted from Jules Michelet’s non-fiction Satanism and Witchcraft, initially seems to be a rape-revenge setup fairly typical of the ’70s.
—Declan Gallagher, Entertainment Weekly, 30 Oct. 2025
The first major Frankenstein film liberally adapts the source material, but in lieu of staging the novel as written, James Whale leans into expressionistic production design and Gothic spectacle.
—Rory Doherty, Vulture, 20 Oct. 2025
If earlier iterations of the lesbian vampire film were Gothic and ornate, Nadja is more shoegaze, captured on bleary black-and-white videotape with an expressionistic flair.
—Samantha Allen, Them., 7 Oct. 2025
Recent Examples of Synonyms for expressionistic
Adjective
-
Teen-agers hung the page in their windows or on their walls, like today’s dorm-room posters of Che Guevara or Malcolm X or Tupac—less a sign of a specific political ideology than an impressionistic display of youthful rebellion.—
Zayd Ayers Dohrn,
New Yorker,
28 Mar. 2026
-
That lurid fable was followed by 2023’s Pictures of Ghosts, an impressionistic documentary that told the parallel stories of Mendonça Filho’s life in movies and Recife’s decaying cinemas.—
Michael Snyder,
The Atlantic,
13 Mar. 2026
Adjective
-
The production is naturalistic, with bits of expressionist neo-noir worked in when a crime is being described.—
Television Critic,
Los Angeles Times,
8 Jan. 2026
-
One of music’s greatest cosmic ironies is how ground zero for the expressionist rage known as death metal is located in easy driving distance from the Most Magical Place on Earth.—
Kory Grow,
Rolling Stone,
19 Nov. 2025
Adjective
-
Her favorite is the impressionist Musée d'Orsay, which is undergoing renovation through summer 2028 but remains open.—
Eve Chen,
USA Today,
2 Apr. 2026
-
Typewriters, stationery, fine-art museums, the quintessential impressionist painter—these are all associated with taste, beauty, and craft, as well as with intentionality and care, the opposite of the ruthless technological efficiency that repels many from generative AI.—
Matteo Wong,
The Atlantic,
25 Mar. 2026
Cite this Entry
“Expressionistic.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/expressionistic. Accessed 3 Apr. 2026.
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