Definition of ROCOCO

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Adjective

In the 18th century, French artists rebelled against the ponderousness of Baroque style and began to create light, delicate interior decorations, furniture, and architectural elements characterized by fanciful curved asymmetrical forms and elaborate ornamentation. The name of their new style, rococo, has been traced to the French rocaille, a term that evoked the ornamental use of rock and shell forms. In time, rococo was also applied to similarly ornamented and intimate styles of painting and music. But all fashions fade, and by the mid-1800s the rococo style was deemed excessively ornate and out-of-date. Now rococo is often used with mild disdain to describe the overly elaborate.

Examples of rococo in a Sentence

Adjective

The chairs are carved in a rococo style.

Recent Examples on the Web: Noun

As his house pares down, ornament sprouts on his person like an irrepressible efflorescence of his inner rococo. — Kennedy Fraser, Vogue, "From the Archives: Karl Lagerfeld, The Impresario," 19 Feb. 2019 There, an after party ensued, with men in 18th-century rococo suits ushering attendees into the Temple of Dendur, where a projection gave the bare walls the appearance of a grand European palace façade. — Lilah Ramzi, Vogue, "All the Stars Turned Out for the World Premiere of Ocean’s 8," 6 June 2018 At the end of the episode, Axe attends a dinner with Andolov's family in one hell of a gold rococo room. — refinery29.com, "Billions Season 3, Episode 10 Recap: "Texas Roadkill Chili"," 28 May 2018 What looks like a fancy rococo wallpaper design in black and white and in gold is actually an arrangement of handcuffs, chains, surveillance cameras, Twitter birds and stylized alpacas—an animal which in China has become a meme against censorship. — Roger Catlin, Smithsonian, "Ai Weiwei Depicts the Brutality of Authoritarianism in an Unusual Medium–Legos," 12 July 2017 As a strategic argument, this might make sense: Most people are always going to be more worried about their immediate economic prospects than even the most rococo of Washington misdeeds. — Michelle Goldberg, Slate Magazine, "Tick, Tick, Tick," 26 June 2017 London Lace Scotland is the source for this company's lovely lace window coverings, which range in style from sweet to over-the-top rococo. — John Loecke, ELLE Decor, "2004 Home Magazine 100 Plus Secret Sources," 5 July 2012 What looks like a fancy rococo wallpaper design in black and white and in gold is actually an arrangement of handcuffs, chains, surveillance cameras, Twitter birds and stylized alpacas—an animal which in China has become a meme against censorship. — Roger Catlin, Smithsonian, "Ai Weiwei Depicts the Brutality of Authoritarianism in an Unusual Medium–Legos," 12 July 2017

Recent Examples on the Web: Adjective

This was not limited to sartorial touches; rococo flourish was present in all genres of French art, from painting to furniture design. — Vogue, "19 Runway Looks That Would’ve Fit Right In at Versailles," 9 Apr. 2018 Of all the bets Michael Kors Holdings could have made on its quest to become an American house of luxury labels, Versace, and its distinct rococo style, stands out as particularly bold. — Kim Bhasin, The Seattle Times, "Michael Kors $2 billion bet on Versace may be too bold," 25 Sep. 2018 What made Garner so captivating for sophisticated European ears was his swing and rococo chord configurations. — WSJ, "‘Nightconcert’ by Erroll Garner Review: A Little Midnight Music," 14 Aug. 2018 With 30 days to vacate her 56,500-square-foot mansion, Candy Spelling had decades of rococo treasures to relocate. — Ronald D. White, latimes.com, "From Sinatra to the Spellings, California's oldest moving company has thrived by remaining discreet," 8 July 2018 Every item — brocade sofas, velvet upholstered chairs, metal hinges, parquet de Versailles floors — is period perfect; Smith will brook no interruption of his rococo illusion. — Nancy Hass, New York Times, "In the Heart of Louisiana, One Man’s Impossibly Ornate Home," 8 May 2018 Still, the increasingly rococo costumes are a delight, especially for Rubinstein. — Jesse Oxfeld, Town & Country, "Christine Ebersole and Patti LuPone Go Head to Head in the New Musical War Paint," 7 Apr. 2017 The Warfield was a glamorous old theater with an elaborately detailed rococo interior, grand antebellum-style spiral stairwells, and enormous chandeliers. — Rachel Kushner, Vogue, "Rachel Kushner on the San Francisco Dives of Her Youth, and That Time She Tended Bar With Keith Richards," 27 Apr. 2018 Among the highlights of the 200-item show is the reunion of six related mythological paintings by François Boucher, a rococo painter who made them for a Parisian mansion. — J.s. Marcus, WSJ, "Two Museums Conjure the Days When Fans Were in the Air," 6 Apr. 2018

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