portraiture

noun

por·​trai·​ture ˈpȯr-trə-ˌchu̇r How to pronounce portraiture (audio)
-chər,
-ˌtyu̇r,
-ˌtu̇r
1
: the making of portraits : portrayal
2

Examples of portraiture in a Sentence

The museum is exhibiting portraiture from the late 19th century.
Recent Examples on the Web Since the ultimate creative act – and ultimate threat – would be the creation of other gods, Yahweh has reason to be especially wary of divine portraiture. Jonathon Keats, Forbes, 29 Oct. 2024 Yet Bacon was radical in striving to uncover man's base animal nature through portraiture. The Week Uk, theweek, 25 Oct. 2024 Through that portraiture, however, the film delivers an excoriating verdict on a modern Britain characterized by compassionless labor politics, stagnant opportunity and shrugging acceptance of a stifling status quo. Guy Lodge, Variety, 18 Oct. 2024 Instead, Kent valiantly wields the weapons of genre to make a compelling case for monster movies as portraiture of the highest art. Wilson Chapman, IndieWire, 17 Sep. 2024 See all Example Sentences for portraiture 

These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'portraiture.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.

Word History

Etymology

Middle English purtreiture, portratowre, portrature "representation by painting or drawing, the art of painting or drawing," borrowed from Anglo-French purtraiture (also continental Old French pourtraiture), from purtrait, past participle of purtraire "to represent, depict" + -ure -ure — more at portray

First Known Use

14th century, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Time Traveler
The first known use of portraiture was in the 14th century

Dictionary Entries Near portraiture

Cite this Entry

“Portraiture.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/portraiture. Accessed 5 Nov. 2024.

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