graphic 1 of 2

graphic

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adjective

variants also graphical

Synonym Chooser

How does the adjective graphic differ from other similar words?

The words picturesque and vivid are common synonyms of graphic. While all three words mean "giving a clear visual impression in words," graphic stresses the evoking of a clear lifelike picture.

a graphic account of combat

When can picturesque be used instead of graphic?

Although the words picturesque and graphic have much in common, picturesque suggests the presentation of a striking or effective picture composed of features notable for their distinctness and charm.

a picturesque account of his travels

When would vivid be a good substitute for graphic?

In some situations, the words vivid and graphic are roughly equivalent. However, vivid suggests an impressing on the mind of the vigorous aliveness of something.

a vivid re-creation of an exciting event

Example Sentences

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.
Recent Examples of graphic
Noun
Investors panicked at the idea of a cheaper alternative that allows tech companies to spend less on graphics chips. Julie Coleman, CNBC, 28 Jan. 2025 By 2022, High-Flyer had acquired 10,000 of Nvidia’s high-performance A100 graphics processor chips, according to a post that July on the Chinese social media platform WeChat. Mithil Aggarwal, NBC News, 28 Jan. 2025
Adjective
Pentagram partner and graphic designer Matt Willey is the Communication Design winner. Rosemary Feitelberg, WWD, 28 Jan. 2025 Unfortunately, that doesn’t prevent Nicky from getting his finger cut off with pruning shears, which is surprisingly graphic — or maybe not so surprising for a show that has proven itself to have no problem depicting violence against children. Louis Peitzman, Vulture, 24 Jan. 2025 See all Example Sentences for graphic 
Recent Examples of Synonyms for graphic
Noun
  • Llewellyn’s starting point for the makeup design was initial illustrations by Phillips and Reed’s color choices in order to do something with the makeup that drew more focus to Yeoh’s imperious performance, but always in complementary colors.
    Sarah Shachat, IndieWire, 31 Jan. 2025
  • In others, Milne expresses frustration with Shephard’s illustrations.
    Sarah Kuta, Smithsonian Magazine, 28 Jan. 2025
Adjective
  • The display delivers sky-high contrast and rich, vivid colors, with ample brightness and wide viewing angles.
    PCMAG, PCMAG, 8 Feb. 2025
  • The design of the car is a vivid homage to Shaquille O'Neal's illustrious NBA career in the 1990s.
    Yaakov Katz, Newsweek, 8 Feb. 2025
Adjective
  • That alone provides for some potentially interesting visual ideas.
    Jason Jones, The Athletic, 9 Feb. 2025
  • Artists Memo Akten and Katie Peyton Hofstadter used dance and visual art to create a multimedia work to do just that.
    Lisa Deaderick, San Diego Union-Tribune, 9 Feb. 2025
Noun
  • Lundgren noted a striking similarity between the abstract geometric shapes in af Klint's work and scientific diagrams in 19th century physicist Thomas Young's Lectures (1807).
    Ars Technica, Ars Technica, 11 Jan. 2025
  • Notice who’s quick diagrams on a whiteboard to clarify a complex concept instantly.
    Renae Gregoire, Forbes, 10 Jan. 2025
Adjective
  • The company did not publicly release a specific reason for the closure.
    Hadley Hitson, The Tennessean, 3 Feb. 2025
  • No, nothing specific in terms of how Mexico is going to retaliate.
    ABC News, ABC News, 2 Feb. 2025
Adjective
  • Conservatively estimated at 75,000 images but likely somewhere closer to 80,000, Harris’s prodigious output—pictures taken for the paper supplemented by his private studio work and general photographic curiosity—beautifully and poetically paints a picture of Black life in mid-20th-century America.
    Robert Alan Grand, ARTnews.com, 7 Feb. 2025
  • The British composer Cyril Scott sent a condolence card with a brooding photographic portrait attached.
    Alex Ross, The New Yorker, 3 Feb. 2025
Noun
  • The show shared an image on social media Monday morning announcing the start.
    Denise Petski, Deadline, 10 Feb. 2025
  • The real footage uses images that were banned or blocked by the government, creating a hybrid docudrama that captured the early days of the Chinese lockdown.
    Samantha Bergeson, IndieWire, 10 Feb. 2025
Adjective
  • The horrific, lethal, split-second impact comes in frame 313, seven rows up from the bottom and 16 frames to the right, where a burst of vertical light interrupts the horizontal flow of the terrible pictorial narrative.
    Christopher Knight, Los Angeles Times, 4 Dec. 2024
  • Tibetan Buddhism persuaded with sheer pictorial beauty.
    Jackson Arn, The New Yorker, 2 Jan. 2025

Thesaurus Entries Near graphic

Cite this Entry

“Graphic.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/graphic. Accessed 14 Feb. 2025.

More from Merriam-Webster on graphic

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