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
Synonyms
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
Margalit Fox, New York Times, 13 Apr. 2024
Japanese cultural arts and crafts vendors and a pictorial timeline of Cupertino’s sister city relationship with Toyokawa will be grouped at the Japanese Artisan Pavilion at the Cupertino Senior Center.
—Anne Gelhaus, The Mercury News, 7 Apr. 2024
The results of this commitment are extraordinary, in terms both purely pictorial and urban-anthropological.
—Sebastian Smee, Washington Post, 9 Apr. 2024
Like Mexican artists Miguel Covarrubias and Alfredo Ramos Martínez, Johnson also created dynamic, abstract pictorial rhythms by composing plant life in geometric, mirror-image shapes, rather than as an organic cornucopia.
—Christopher Knight, Los Angeles Times, 1 Mar. 2024
Here’s a pictorial display of the local and global celebrations.
—Jose Carlos Fajardo, The Mercury News, 6 Jan. 2024
The internet is now teeming with pictorial signs – pixelated images, emoji, and other typographical codes – that signal political dissent.
—Anna Furman, The Christian Science Monitor, 17 Jan. 2024
And no, in 1906, Picasso hadn’t yet invented (with Georges Braque) the revolutionary pictorial language known as cubism.
—Sebastian Smee, Washington Post, 10 Jan. 2024
The costume worn by Marilyn Monroe as Lillian Russell for a pictorial feature in Life magazine’s December 1958 issue is one of the most eye-catching lots from her collection.
—Demetrius Simms, Robb Report, 7 Jan. 2024
Elizabeth Logan, Glamour, 8 Nov. 2023
In this photo, Jayson Tatum (right) and Celtics fans erupt after his basket at the buzzer defeated Kyrie Irving (left) and the Nets 115-114.Jim Davis/Globe Staff Jonathan Wiggs received an honorable mention in pictorial in the Boston Press Photographers Association’s 2022 annual contests.
—Kate Armanini, BostonGlobe.com, 3 Mar. 2023
In January 1960 Stevens was Playboy’s Playmate of the Month (she was later featured in Playboy pictorials in 1965 and 1968, and on the magazine’s list of the 100 Sexiest Stars of the 20th Century, Stevens appeared at No. 27).
—Carmel Dagan, Variety, 17 Feb. 2023
Royal Oak: From Iconoclast to Icon, written by journalist and acting editor-in-chief of Wallpaper magazine, Bill Prince, and published by Assouline, is the first book on the famous AP model in a decade (the last book, mostly a pictorial, was written by Martin K. Wehrli and Heinz Heimann in 2012).
—Paige Reddinger, Robb Report, 14 Sep. 2022
And your pictorial really brings it home.
—James Rainey, Los Angeles Times, 9 May 2022
Scrolling through Sisson's Instagram is now a loving pictorial of Arizona running, from the Valley canals up to Flagstaff and places in between.
—Jeff Metcalfe, The Arizona Republic, 7 Aug. 2021
His direction emphasizes the pictorial over the physical.
—Richard Brody, The New Yorker, 9 June 2021
Probert was not particularly fond of cats, but this pictorial appealed to him as an advertising logo.
—Brenda Yenke, cleveland, 9 Jan. 2020
Adjective
Faith Ringgold, a multimedia artist whose pictorial quilts depicting the African American experience gave rise to a second distinguished career as a writer and illustrator of children’s books, died on Saturday at her home in Englewood, N.J.
—Margalit Fox, New York Times, 13 Apr. 2024
Japanese cultural arts and crafts vendors and a pictorial timeline of Cupertino’s sister city relationship with Toyokawa will be grouped at the Japanese Artisan Pavilion at the Cupertino Senior Center.
—Anne Gelhaus, The Mercury News, 7 Apr. 2024
The results of this commitment are extraordinary, in terms both purely pictorial and urban-anthropological.
—Sebastian Smee, Washington Post, 9 Apr. 2024
Like Mexican artists Miguel Covarrubias and Alfredo Ramos Martínez, Johnson also created dynamic, abstract pictorial rhythms by composing plant life in geometric, mirror-image shapes, rather than as an organic cornucopia.
—Christopher Knight, Los Angeles Times, 1 Mar. 2024
Here’s a pictorial display of the local and global celebrations.
—Jose Carlos Fajardo, The Mercury News, 6 Jan. 2024
The internet is now teeming with pictorial signs – pixelated images, emoji, and other typographical codes – that signal political dissent.
—Anna Furman, The Christian Science Monitor, 17 Jan. 2024
And no, in 1906, Picasso hadn’t yet invented (with Georges Braque) the revolutionary pictorial language known as cubism.
—Sebastian Smee, Washington Post, 10 Jan. 2024
The costume worn by Marilyn Monroe as Lillian Russell for a pictorial feature in Life magazine’s December 1958 issue is one of the most eye-catching lots from her collection.
—Demetrius Simms, Robb Report, 7 Jan. 2024
Noun
Irina Shayk is the rare model who started in her 20s and transitioned from swimsuit and lingerie modeling to high-fashion pictorials to, nowadays, street style.
—Elizabeth Logan, Glamour, 8 Nov. 2023
In this photo, Jayson Tatum (right) and Celtics fans erupt after his basket at the buzzer defeated Kyrie Irving (left) and the Nets 115-114.Jim Davis/Globe Staff Jonathan Wiggs received an honorable mention in pictorial in the Boston Press Photographers Association’s 2022 annual contests.
—Kate Armanini, BostonGlobe.com, 3 Mar. 2023
In January 1960 Stevens was Playboy’s Playmate of the Month (she was later featured in Playboy pictorials in 1965 and 1968, and on the magazine’s list of the 100 Sexiest Stars of the 20th Century, Stevens appeared at No. 27).
—Carmel Dagan, Variety, 17 Feb. 2023
Royal Oak: From Iconoclast to Icon, written by journalist and acting editor-in-chief of Wallpaper magazine, Bill Prince, and published by Assouline, is the first book on the famous AP model in a decade (the last book, mostly a pictorial, was written by Martin K. Wehrli and Heinz Heimann in 2012).
—Paige Reddinger, Robb Report, 14 Sep. 2022
And your pictorial really brings it home.
—James Rainey, Los Angeles Times, 9 May 2022
Scrolling through Sisson's Instagram is now a loving pictorial of Arizona running, from the Valley canals up to Flagstaff and places in between.
—Jeff Metcalfe, The Arizona Republic, 7 Aug. 2021
His direction emphasizes the pictorial over the physical.
—Richard Brody, The New Yorker, 9 June 2021
Probert was not particularly fond of cats, but this pictorial appealed to him as an advertising logo.
—Brenda Yenke, cleveland, 9 Jan. 2020
These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'pictorial.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.
Dictionary Entries Near pictorial
Cite this Entry
“Pictorial.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/pictorial. Accessed 23 Apr. 2024.
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