vignette

noun vi·gnette \ vin-ˈyet , vēn- \

Updated on: 14 May 2018

Definition of vignette

1 a : a picture (such as an engraving or photograph) that shades off gradually into the surrounding paper

b : the pictorial part of a postage stamp design as distinguished from the frame and lettering

2 a : a short descriptive literary sketch

b : a brief incident or scene (as in a play or movie)

3 : a running ornament (as of vine leaves, tendrils, and grapes) put on or just before a title page or at the beginning or end of a chapter; also : a small decorative design or picture so placed

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vignettist

play \vin-ˈye-tist, vēn-\ noun

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Examples of vignette in a Sentence

The play's program features a little vignette about each member of the cast.
The film is a series of vignettes about living with cancer.

Recent Examples of vignette from the Web

Pear Slices 2018 Pear Theatre presents the 15th annual collection of original 15-minute vignettes from members of the Pear Playwrights Guild.

— chronicle staff report, San Francisco Chronicle, "Theater capsule reviews and listings, week of May 13," 10 May 2018
The work moves along in a series of vignettes that take a close look at the ones who are left behind.

— cameron basden, miamiherald, "Karen Peterson and Dancers take a hard look at the impact of war | Miami Herald," 30 Apr. 2018
This photo vignette from The Star’s collection shows the intersection at 18th Street and Grand Boulevard swarming with people, with a caption saying it was taken after the centennial parade in 1950.

— kansascity, "Huge crowds at 18th and Grand for KC’s centennial | The Kansas City Star," 6 Mar. 2018
The program opened with the eight brief movements of Leonard Bernstein’s Divertimento for Orchestra, which crossed the footlight as something between fond caricatures and entertaining vignettes.

— elaine schmidt, Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, "Milwaukee Symphony's all-American program brings listeners to their feet," 21 Jan. 2018
One vignette shows Pratt among a group of Philadelphia men implicated in the slave trade, and others deal with imperialism, especially by the French in Vietnam.

— thomas hine, Philly.com, "'Antipodes' at Lemon Hill shows a way forward: Philly's mansions don't need to be musty antiques," 25 Apr. 2018
As Laura and Emma progress through the years in a series of elegant, understated vignettes, the distance between them quietly expands and then contracts and then expands again, a torrent of raw emotion under the glacial surfaces of these sentences.

— constance grady, Vox, "Laura and Emma is a ferociously restrained novel that turns its quietness into a weapon," 24 Apr. 2018
People figure directly in only one vignette, a rear shot of six Eastern European tourists gazing across the Seine at the Eiffel Tower as Parisian passersby look curiously out at the audience.

— ty burr, BostonGlobe.com, "The final frames of Abbas Kiarostami," 12 Apr. 2018
Adding to the immersive effect, the splendid audio tour features dramatized vignettes based on historical accounts, well acted and enhanced by period music and ambient 3-D soundscapes.

— barrymore laurence scherer, WSJ, "‘Visitors to Versailles (1682-1789)’ Review: Virtual Time Travel," 11 Apr. 2018

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

The Connection Between vignette and Vines

Vignette comes from Middle French vignete, the diminutive form of the noun vigne, meaning "vine." In English, the word was first used in the mid-18th century for a design or illustration that ran along the blank border of a page, or one that marked the beginning or end of a chapter. Such designs got their name because they often looked like little vines. It wasn't until the late 19th century that usage of vignette had shifted to cover a brief literary sketch or narrative, as we commonly see it used today.