painterly
adjective
paint·er·ly
ˈpān-tər-lē 
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
At Rùn, the hotel’s serene Chinese pavilion, the Cantonese dishes come plated with painterly grace.
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AFAR Media, 2 Sep. 2025
Still, the richest, most enduring pleasures here are formal ones, beginning with the exacting still-life compositions and oily, vehement primary hues of Jenkins’ 16mm lensing, which can make a painterly subject of a maritime squall or a mustard-yellow wading boot.
—Guy Lodge, Variety, 31 Aug. 2025
Gastón Solnicki’s latest work features a magnetic central performance from Willem Dafoe, it is artfully composed with painterly images, shots of Vienna at sunset are exquisite, and its spartan dialogue possesses a dry wit.
—Leila Latif, IndieWire, 31 Aug. 2025
There’s a painterly aspect to each of his films, where quiet transcendence aligns with larger-than-life chutzpah.
—Will Dukes, Rolling Stone, 17 Aug. 2025
See All Example Sentences for painterly
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AFAR Media, 2 Sep. 2025
Still, the richest, most enduring pleasures here are formal ones, beginning with the exacting still-life compositions and oily, vehement primary hues of Jenkins’ 16mm lensing, which can make a painterly subject of a maritime squall or a mustard-yellow wading boot.
—Guy Lodge, Variety, 31 Aug. 2025
Gastón Solnicki’s latest work features a magnetic central performance from Willem Dafoe, it is artfully composed with painterly images, shots of Vienna at sunset are exquisite, and its spartan dialogue possesses a dry wit.
—Leila Latif, IndieWire, 31 Aug. 2025
There’s a painterly aspect to each of his films, where quiet transcendence aligns with larger-than-life chutzpah.
—Will Dukes, Rolling Stone, 17 Aug. 2025
See All Example Sentences for painterly
Cite this Entry
“Painterly.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/painterly. Accessed 11 Sep. 2025.
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