Synonyms of painting

painting 1 of 2

noun

ˈpān-tiŋ 

as in canvas

a picture created with oil paint

the Mona Lisa is a haunting painting of a woman with a most mysterious smile

Synonyms & Similar Words

• canvas
• mural
• watercolor
• oil
• fresco
• drawing
• panorama
• oil painting
• masterpiece
• etching
• sketch
• acrylic
• diptych
• gouache
• pastel
• triptych
• tempera
• finger painting
• distemper
• aquarelle
• showpiece
• pièce de résistance

painting

2 of 2

verb

present participle of paint

1

as in describing

to give a representation or account of in words

the description painted a perfect image of the sun setting over the ocean

Synonyms & Similar Words

• describing
• depicting
• portraying
• rendering
• sketching
• drawing
• setting out
• illustrating
• picturing
• delineating
• characterizing
• limning
• recounting
• defining
• imaging
• representing
• outlining
• relating
• displaying
• summarizing
• showing
• exhibiting
• telling
• narrating
• labeling
• reporting
• demonstrating
• tracing
• reciting
• suggesting
• qualifying
• rehearsing
• hinting
• drafting
• summing up
• silhouetting
• touching off
• reimaging
• redescribing
• vignetting

Antonyms & Near Antonyms

• coloring
• distorting
• twisting
• misrepresenting
• falsifying
• warping
• misstating
• perverting
• misdescribing
• garbling

2

as in tinting

to give color or a different color to

I've decided to paint the bathroom walls purple

Synonyms & Similar Words

• tinting
• staining
• coloring
• dyeing
• brightening
• pigmenting
• tingeing
• tincturing
• darkening
• striping
• bepainting
• lightening
• flecking
• dappling
• streaking
• daubing
• marbling
• toning (down)
• specking
• variegating
• striating
• patterning
• speckling
• mottling
• polychroming
• embrowning
• checkering

Antonyms & Near Antonyms

• bleaching
• whitening
• decolorizing
• blanching

Example Sentences

Recent Examples of painting

Noun

The burglary took place as Messina celebrated the Ferragosto national holiday, when attention was diverted from the paintings, the only works by Antonello remaining in his hometown. — Tessa Solomon, ARTnews.com, 18 Aug. 2026

Her paintings carry almost none of the familiar signs of masculine authority that dominated so much art of that moment. — Jerry Saltz, Vulture, 18 Aug. 2026

Verb

In 2010, Bou Meng testified that painting larger-than-life images of Pol Pot and portraits of other communist icons helped save his life. — ABC News, 16 Aug. 2026

To date, the videos that used Swift’s songs have solely focused on painting the president, and his wife, in a positive light. — Maya Georgi, Rolling Stone, 13 Aug. 2026

Phrases Containing painting

• oil painting