pic·to·ri·al
pik-ˈtȯr-ē-əl 
1
: of or relating to a painter, a painting, or the painting or drawing of pictures
pictorial perspective
2
a
: of, relating to, or consisting of pictures
pictorial records
b
: illustrated by pictures
pictorial weekly
c
: consisting of or displaying the characteristics of pictographs
d
: suggesting or conveying visual images
pictorial poetry
pictorialness
noun
: a periodical having much pictorial matter
Examples of pictorial in a Sentence
Adjective
a pictorial record of the trip
that photojournalist is planning to do a primarily pictorial report on the famine in Africa
Recent Examples on the Web
Doreen St. Félix, New Yorker, 14 June 2025
Image Sherald’s vertical portraits, by contrast, retain their pictorial charisma despite a certain repetitiveness.
—Deborah Solomon, New York Times, 15 May 2025
Howard Cohen, Miami Herald, 12 June 2025
The coffee table tome, its black cover embossed with gold lettering and shrouded in shrink wrap, includes reproductions of dozens of covers and pictorials and Flynt’s crusading columns against censorship that tackled issues including gay, transgender and women’s rights decades ago.
—Howard Cohen, Miami Herald, 12 June 2025
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Adjective
In interviews, Burnett’s recollections are more pictorial than psychological.
—Doreen St. Félix, New Yorker, 14 June 2025
Image Sherald’s vertical portraits, by contrast, retain their pictorial charisma despite a certain repetitiveness.
—Deborah Solomon, New York Times, 15 May 2025
Noun
Bold face names abound in its 204 glossy pages including John F. Kennedy Jr., whose mother, the late Jackie Onassis, was the subject of a 1975 pictorial when a paparazzo with a long lens and a publisher with a fat wallet, shared images of her undressed.
—Howard Cohen, Miami Herald, 12 June 2025
The coffee table tome, its black cover embossed with gold lettering and shrouded in shrink wrap, includes reproductions of dozens of covers and pictorials and Flynt’s crusading columns against censorship that tackled issues including gay, transgender and women’s rights decades ago.
—Howard Cohen, Miami Herald, 12 June 2025
See All Example Sentences for pictorial
Cite this Entry
“Pictorial.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/pictorial. Accessed 8 Jul. 2025.
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