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

Because every act of giving is a brushstroke on someone else’s canvas. —Rosemarie Truman, Forbes.com, 7 May 2025

And because all that graininess is fundamental to unamplified music, the way a brushstroke is to painting, a trio of dead composers sounded very much alive. —Justin Davidson, Vulture, 2 May 2025

Photographed by Steven Meisel, each image has been digitally tweaked to echo brushstrokes, playing with a sense of ambiguity between the mediums of painting and photography, present and past. —Sandra Salibian, Footwear News, 27 Mar. 2025

This season includes a brushstroke of blue added to the artisanal line-up of heirlooms. —Gemma A. Williams, Forbes, 9 Mar. 2025

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