painterly

adjective

paint·​er·​ly ˈpān-tər-lē How to pronounce painterly (audio)
1
: of, relating to, or typical of a painter : artistic
painterly attention to detail
2
: suggestive or characteristic of a painting or of the art of painting
painterly photography
especially : marked by an openness of form which is not linear and in which sharp outlines are lacking
painterly brushwork
painterliness noun

Examples of painterly in a Sentence

He has a painterly eye. a painterly picture of the sea
Recent Examples on the Web
Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
Mary McCartney, meanwhile, brings a quieter intimacy with portraits that blend celebrity with a painterly softness, while Julia Fullerton-Batten stuns with a visceral, theatrical tableau of Victorian women boxing—an image that punches through the noise with feminist force and visual drama. Lee Sharrock, Forbes.com, 16 May 2025 The harshness of this world, conjured by Laxe with his signature painterly vision, feels a lot like our own. Lovia Gyarkye, HollywoodReporter, 15 May 2025 In one key scene, when Roz jumps from a ship while the forest is alight with magenta fire, shows off how the painterly style matches the soundscape. Ryan Fleming, Deadline, 8 Feb. 2025 The trailer showed the smallest of glimpses of Amaterasu running through a field, with painterly style intact. Thomas G. Moukawsher, Newsweek, 13 Dec. 2024 See All Example Sentences for painterly

Word History

First Known Use

circa 1586, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Time Traveler
The first known use of painterly was circa 1586

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Cite this Entry

“Painterly.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/painterly. Accessed 27 May. 2025.

Last Updated: - Updated example sentences
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