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

The four men are framed by brushstrokes that evoke railroad tracks. —Nina Metz, Chicago Tribune, 17 June 2026

Webb just isn’t ready to say how his specific brushstrokes will transform the canvas. —Nick Kosmider, New York Times, 12 June 2026

The research, conducted by Francois Berkmans, Ludovic Nys, and Maxence Bigerelle, focuses on how surface metrology—essentially, the texture and topography of a painting’s brushstrokes—can be used like a fingerprint to zero in on the authorship of a particular artwork. —Leigh Anne Miller, ARTnews.com, 11 June 2026

Her figures lounged, stood, or in one instance danced in unadorned, nearly empty interiors composed with broad, feathery brushstrokes. —Lovia Gyarkye, The New York Review of Books, 6 June 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