cel

noun

\ ˈsel

How to pronounce cel (audio)

\

variants: or less commonly cell

Definition of cel

: a transparent sheet of celluloid on which objects are drawn or painted in the making of animated cartoons

Examples of cel in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web Computer animation encompasses a range from the flatter, cel-shaded style to the more photo-realistic kind. — Los Angeles Times, "‘Earwig and the Witch’ director Goro Miyazaki on his ‘sacrilegious’ Studio Ghibli movie," 7 Feb. 2021 But not all data points are flashing red: The FDA granted liso-cel what is known as priority review status earlier this year, which is typically a good sign. — Charley Grant, WSJ, "Decision Time Looms for Biotech’s Riskiest Bet," 20 Sep. 2020 On the other hand, the studio’s Ink and Paint Department—where the animators’ character drawings were painstakingly copied onto clear plastic sheets, or cels, then colored in—was made up almost entirely of women. — Margaret Talbot, The New Yorker, "The Women Who Helped Build Hollywood," 28 Oct. 2019 Two unidentified artists paint animation cels in Disney Studios' inking and painting department, Burbank, Calif., 1943. — Nathalia Holt, Time, "The Forgotten Women Who Helped Shape the Look of Disney Animation," 22 Oct. 2019 The soft colors and cel-shading have an ethereal quality and those visuals are fitting for a game about death. — Gieson Cacho, The Mercury News, "Preview: ‘Oninaki’ tries to breathe new life into action RPG," 22 July 2019 The cel shading is crisp, the lines are as expressive as the original material, and in some ways the overall presentation is cleaner and nicer looking than the anime. — Kyle Orland, Ars Technica, "Ars Technica’s best games of 2018," 24 Dec. 2018 Legions of inkers and painters (all of whom were women, by the way) painstakingly finished each cel by hand and prepared them to be photographed. — Arthur Levine, USA TODAY, "Walt Disney Studios: Take a tour of the working lot," 25 Sep. 2017 Called axi-cel, the Kite medicine stems from a yearslong scientific collaboration with the NCI, underscoring the government agency’s central role in developing immunotherapies. — Thomas M. Burton, WSJ, "Immunotherapy Treatments for Cancer Gain Momentum," 12 Oct. 2017

These example sentences are selected automatically from various online news sources to reflect current usage of the word 'cel.' Views expressed in the examples do not represent the opinion of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.

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Last Updated

15 Feb 2021

Cite this Entry

“Cel.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/cel. Accessed 7 Mar. 2021.

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More Definitions for cel

Cel

abbreviation

Medical Definition of Cel

Celsius

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