chinoiserie

noun chi·noi·se·rie \ shēn-ˈwäz-rē , -ˈwä-zə- ; ˌshēn-ˌwäz-ˈrē , -ˌwä-zə- \

Updated on: 7 Apr 2018

Definition of chinoiserie

: a style in art (as in decoration) reflecting Chinese qualities or motifs; also : an object or decoration in this style

chinoiserie was our Word of the Day on 01/15/2014. Hear the podcast!

Recent Examples of chinoiserie from the Web

Introduce the East to the West Blending chinoiserie and clean midcentury lines keeps either from becoming themey.

— kathryn o’shea-evans, WSJ, "Interior Design That Will Let You Party Like a President," 23 Mar. 2018
Hartig’s sensibility is always slightly punk, and his collection veered from delightfully chic flapper-era gowns with chinoiserie embroidery to army jackets emblazoned with the image of Cher, yes, Cher.

— booth moore, The Hollywood Reporter, "When the Runway Is a Party," 14 Feb. 2018
Many of the season’s ready-to-wear pieces reference period textiles like chinoiserie and brocade, with additional textural layering from leather, knits and plumage.

— sophia markoulakis, San Francisco Chronicle, "Style Pairing: Dare to wear patterns," 1 Feb. 2018
The production design remains a fairly static pageant of hand-me-down chinoiserie, with a set and costumes that have been passed among four companies before winding up in Chicago.

— john von rhein, chicagotribune.com, "Lyric Opera greets new year with an improved 'Turandot'," 11 Jan. 2018
In it, Mona is wearing red trousers and sitting on a yellow sofa in a chinoiserie room.

— lisa cregan, House Beautiful, "An Empty "White Cube" Apartment Gets Its Masterpiece Theatre Moment," 19 Jan. 2017
How about that conversation in the dining room, between the classic China-trade blue and the mod-chinoiserie Hicks brown?

— douglas brenner, House Beautiful, "Tom Scheerer on Designing an All-American House in Shades of Blue," 4 Aug. 2013
Chinoiserie Caroline Bailly of L’Atelier Rouge notices 18th-century chinoiserie motifs making an appearance at more and more weddings.

— lindsay tigar, Vogue, "New Wedding Bouquet Trends to Try This Fall," 15 Sep. 2017
First there were these chinoiserie pumpkins, which made us think blue and white might be the ultimate fall color scheme.

— leah silverman, Town & Country, "Dog-O-Lanterns Are the Scary-Cute Decor Your Porch Needs This Halloween," 20 Oct. 2017

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

Did You Know?

In 1670, King Louis XIV had the Trianon de Porcelaine erected at Versailles. It was a small structure-a pleasure house built for the king's mistress-and it was decorated with chinoiserie and faced with faience tiles with a blue and white chinoiserie pattern. The building persists in history as the first major example of chinoiserie-the English word is borrowed straight from French, which based the word on chinois, its word for "Chinese"-but the trend it began long outlasted the building itself, which was destroyed a mere 17 years later to make way for the Grand Trianon. Chinoiserie itself was popular throughout the 17th and 18th centuries and enjoyed a brief revival in the 1930s. And people still enjoy it today.