picturesque

pic·tur·esque

adjective \ˌpik-chə-ˈresk\

Definition of PICTURESQUE

1

a : resembling a picture : suggesting a painted scene

b : charming or quaint in appearance

2

: evoking mental images : vivid

— pic·tur·esque·ly adverb

— pic·tur·esque·ness noun

Examples of PICTURESQUE

1. The view of the mountains was very picturesque.
2. <wrote a picturesque tale of their journey across the country>

Origin of PICTURESQUE

French & Italian; French pittoresque, from Italian pittoresco, from pittore painter, from Latin pictor, from pingere

First Known Use: 1703

Related to PICTURESQUE

Synonyms

delineated, pictorial, graphic, visual, vivid

Related Words

depicted, descriptive, expressive; concrete, explicit, specific; faithful, lifelike, natural, photographic, realistic; fresh, incisive, sharp

Near Antonyms

indeterminate, nebulous, obscure, sketchy, unclear, vague; bleary, blurry, dark, dim, faint, foggy, fuzzy, hazy, indefinite, indistinct, indistinguishable, muddy, murky, shadowlike, shadowy; ambiguous, cryptic, dark, enigmatic (also enigmatical), equivocal, inscrutable, mysterious

See Synonym Discussion at graphic

Rhymes with PICTURESQUE

arabesque, Bunyanesque, copydesk, gigantesque, humoresque, Junoesque, Kafkaesque, picaresque, plateresque, Romanesque, Rubenesque, Runyonesque, sculpturesque, statuesque, Whitmanesque

picturesque

adjective    (Concise Encyclopedia)

Artistic concept and style of the late 18th and early 19th century characterized by a preoccupation with architecture and landscape in pictorial combination with each other. In Britain, the picturesque was defined as an aesthetic quality marked by pleasing variety, irregularity, asymmetry, and interesting textures; medieval ruins in a natural landscape were thought to be picturesque. John Nash produced some of the most exemplary works embodying the concept. See also folly.