brushstroke

noun

brush·​stroke ˈbrəsh-ˌstrōk 

: the configuration given to paint by contact with the bristles of a brush

also : the paint left on a surface by a single application of a brush or palette knife

—often used figuratively to describe the quality especially of a narrative or description

a story told in broad brushstrokes

Examples of brushstroke in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web

Practice the chord change or the brushstroke that interests you. — Tarot.com, The Orlando Sentinel, 6 Nov. 2026

Once cleaned, the clarity of Michelangelo’s composition allowed for a detailed examination of his brushstrokes. — News Desk, Artforum, 5 Nov. 2026

Sun’s piece mostly orbits a monochrome palette of heavy, inky black shading (with white outlines) and a lot of line detail, with broad, impressionistic brushstrokes characterizing the landscape — at least some of the time. — Kambole Campbell, Variety, 3 Nov. 2026

In their place came black marks, gray washes, looping lines, and dense arrangements of brushstrokes somewhere between Twombly’s chalk drawings and Pollock’s contained chaos. — Daniel Cassady, ARTnews.com, 26 Oct. 2026

Word History

First Known Use

1879, in the meaning defined above

Rhymes for brushstroke

• awoke
• baroque
• bespoke
• colloque
• convoke
• evoke
• invoke
• keystroke
• kinfolk
• kinsfolk
• menfolk
• provoke