impressionistic

adjective

im·​pres·​sion·​is·​tic (ˌ)im-ˌpre-shə-ˈni-stik 

1

or impressionist

im-ˈpre-sh(ə-)nist 

often capitalized : of, relating to, or constituting impressionism

2

: based on or involving impression as distinct from expertise or fact

intuitions and impressionistic anecdotal accounts

—Sidney Hook

impressionistically

(ˌ)im-ˌpre-shə-ˈni-sti-k(ə-)lē 

adverb

Examples of impressionistic in a Sentence

He wrote an impressionistic account of the battle scene.

Recent Examples on the Web

As if acknowledging the decidedly impressionistic quality of the translation, each of Emoji Dick’s lines of emoji was accompanied by the original text. —Longreads, 1 July 2025

One standout, runner-up finisher Jailbird from director Andrew Salter, is less impressionistic. —Dade Hayes, Deadline, 6 June 2025

The mostly impressionistic plot centers a French woman visiting Hiroshima to film an anti-nuclear war film—a postmortem attempt at documenting Japan’s holocaust. —Literary Hub, 11 June 2025

The impressionistic doc captures people who have long been contending with the ravages of war and terror, most recently inflicted by ISIS. —Nick Vivarelli, Variety, 9 May 2025

Word History

First Known Use

1886, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Rhymes for impressionistic

• anachronistic
• animalistic
• antagonistic
• antiphlogistic
• behavioristic
• cannibalistic
• capitalistic
• characteristic
• collectivistic
• deterministic
• ethnolinguistic
• expressionistic

Kids Definition

impressionistic

adjective

im·​pres·​sion·​is·​tic (ˌ)im-ˌpresh-ə-ˈnis-tik 

1

or impressionist

im-ˈpresh-(ə-)nəst 

often capitalized : of or relating to impressionism

an impressionistic style of painting

2

: based on or involving one's impressions rather than knowledge or facts

impressionistic descriptions

impressionistically

(ˌ)im-ˌpresh-ə-ˈnis-ti-k(ə-)lē 

adverb