montage

play

noun mon·tage \ män-ˈtäzh , mōⁿ(n)- \

Definition of montage

1 :the production of a rapid succession of images in a motion picture to illustrate an association of ideas

2 a :a literary, musical, or artistic composite (see ²composite 1) of juxtaposed more or less heterogeneous elements

b :a composite picture made by combining several separate pictures

3 :a heterogeneous mixture :jumble

a montage of emotions

a montage of sounds

See montage defined for English-language learners

See montage defined for kids

Examples of montage in a Sentence

a photographer who often uses montage in her pictures
my memories of the childhood trip are a montage of the sights, smells, and sounds of India

Recent Examples of montage from the Web

In their newest visuals, directed by Ze'ev Waismann, the two take us on a late night drive with a NSFW montage, over a soundtrack that can't be confined to one genre.

— erica gonzales, Harper's BAZAAR, "Premiere: THEY. Release Dark and Steamy Visuals for "Deep End"," 21 Aug. 2017
The structure features large glass windows; science-themed photo montage artwork in the stairwells put together by students; and a glass sculpture hanging in the two-story foyer designed by Hot Shop, a glass blowing studio in Valparaiso.

— amy lavalley, Post-Tribune, "New science building comes with $150K energy savings," 9 Aug. 2017
One of this performance-art documentary’s low points occurs when Rossi intercuts news video — predictable, button-pushing montages of the Walter Scott and Eric Garner deaths.

— armond white, National Review, "Girls Trip and Bronx Gothic: Two Visions of Post-Obama Black Empowerment," 14 July 2017
The victim and a witness independently identified both men from police photo montages, according to the charges.

— sara jean green, The Seattle Times, "Charges: 2 men raped woman in her Kirkland home after sharing ride from Seattle bar," 10 July 2017
In May, the singer posted a video montage of second-long clips that were recorded every day during the month of April, starting March 31st and ending April 30th.

— dave quinn, PEOPLE.com, "Red, White, and ‘Dirrty!’ Christina Aguilera Celebrates the Fourth of July with Sexy Photo Shoot," 5 July 2017
There's an early montage of Spidey swinging around to the tunes of fellow Queens natives The Ramones that is pure joy, and a major action scene at the Washington Monument is extraordinary.

— jordan hoffman, Popular Mechanics, "'Spider-Man: Homecoming' Makes Spidey Feel Fun and Fresh Again," 29 June 2017
Spilling out onto the terrace, revelers looked out onto a garden replete with yet more pictures of Moss, which, as dusk set in, moved into a kaleidoscopic, monochrome montage.

— isobel thompson, Vanities, "Kate Moss, Calvin Klein’s Ultimate Muse, Gets a Royal Celebration," 23 June 2017
But there’s nothing wrong in this eight-minute montage of dunks and three-pointers.

— andrew perloff, SI.com, "2017 NBA Mock Draft: The YouTube Edition," 22 June 2017

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

Origin and Etymology of montage

French, from monter to mount

NEW! Time Traveler

First Known Use: 1929

See Words from the same year

montage Synonyms

Synonyms

agglomerate, agglomeration, alphabet soup, assortment, botch, clutter, collage, crazy quilt, farrago, gallimaufry, grab bag, gumbo, hash, hodgepodge, hotchpotch, jambalaya, jumble, jungle, litter, macédoine, medley, mélange, menagerie, miscellanea, mishmash, mixed bag, miscellany, motley, muddle, olio, olla podrida, omnium-gatherum, pastiche, patchwork, patchwork quilt, potpourri, ragbag, ragout, rummage, salad, salmagundi, scramble, shuffle, smorgasbord, stew, tumble, variety, welter

Other Performing Arts Terms

diva, dramaturgy, loge, prestidigitation, proscenium, supernumerary, zany

montage

verb

Definition of montage

montaged; montaging

transitive verb

:to combine into or depict in a montage

Recent Examples of montage from the Web

The residences will be similar to Montage Residences.

— Orange County Register, "Montage International debuts Pendry hotel brand with more on the way," 20 Mar. 2017

First Known Use of montage

1944

Other Fine Arts Terms

Gothic, baroque, bas-relief, limn, oeuvre, pastiche, rococo, sfumato

MONTAGE Defined for English Language Learners

montage

play

noun

Definition of montage for English Language Learners

: a work of art that is made up of several different kinds of things (such as strips of newspaper, pictures, or pieces of wood)
: a mixture of different things