cyclorama

noun

cy·​clo·​ra·​ma ˌsī-klə-ˈra-mə How to pronounce cyclorama (audio) -ˈrä- How to pronounce cyclorama (audio)
1
: a large pictorial representation encircling the spectator and often having real objects as a foreground
2
: a curved curtain or wall used as a background of a stage set to suggest unlimited space
cycloramic adjective

Example Sentences

Recent Examples on the Web Those jams have a way of walking you into the hypnotic cyclorama of schmaltziness that the ’80s fully embraced with a bear hug. Ed Schrader, SPIN, 6 Sep. 2022 The video design by Luke Halls creates a poetic cyclorama of sea and skyline that conjures history in black-and-white imagery and occasionally summons the nightmares of its characters in gory color. Los Angeles Times, 8 Mar. 2022 The evening opened with several of the company’s men sliding in and out of lunges and wide fourth positions, silhouetted by an orangy glow on the cyclorama (thanks to Harrison Pearse Burke’s nimble lighting). Lauren Warnecke, chicagotribune.com, 4 Mar. 2022 Located in the Buckhead neighborhood, the Atlanta History Center has a mix of indoor and outdoor exhibits, from the 1928 Swan House to a cyclorama depicting the Battle of Atlanta. Visit the National Center for Civil and Human Rights. Elizabeth Rhodes, Travel + Leisure, 23 Jan. 2022 The centerpiece of the show, which occupies the Armory’s 55,000-square-foot Wade Thompson Drill Hall, is a towering cyclorama in which the seven-part video work Conditions (2021) plays. Marley Marius, Vogue, 3 Dec. 2021 An adjacent, interactive touch-screen provides information on what today occupies the scenes in the replica cyclorama. New York Times, 19 Oct. 2021 One of the most interesting items is a modern photographic replica of the study for the 47-foot by 380-foot cyclorama of the fire made in 1892 for the 1893 World’s Columbian Exposition in Chicago. New York Times, 19 Oct. 2021 The set designer, Es Devlin, puts a huge cyclorama behind the glass office, a curving video-screen that shows us black-and-white images — a misty cotton field when the Lehmans are in Alabama, a changing New York skyline for the move north. Helen Shaw, Vulture, 14 Oct. 2021 See More

These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'cyclorama.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.

Word History

Etymology

cycl- + -orama (as in panorama)

First Known Use

1840, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Time Traveler
The first known use of cyclorama was in 1840

Dictionary Entries Near cyclorama

Cite this Entry

“Cyclorama.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/cyclorama. Accessed 30 May. 2023.

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