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 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 Falkenstein’s mural amply demonstrates the painterly skills of an artist better known as a sculptor (a fine wall relief and four less interesting sculptures are also on view). Christopher Knight, Los Angeles Times, 29 Oct. 2024 Unlike Breath of the Wild or last year’s Tears of the Kingdom, which dazzled with their painterly landscapes and awe-inspiring scale, Echoes of Wisdom is bite-size and cute with a world that looks like a Playmobil set. Joshua Rivera, Vulture, 8 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 24 Nov. 2024.

Last Updated: - Updated example sentences
Love words? Need even more definitions?

Subscribe to America's largest dictionary and get thousands more definitions and advanced search—ad free!