vignette

1 of 2

noun

vi·​gnette vin-ˈyet 

vēn-

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

vignettist

vin-ˈye-tist 

vēn-

noun

vignette

2 of 2

verb

vignetted; vignetting

transitive verb

1

: to finish (something, such as a photograph) like a vignette

2

: to describe briefly

vignetter noun

Did you know?

The Connection Between Vignette and Vines

Vignette comes from the Middle French noun vigne, meaning "vine." In English, the word was first used in the early 17th 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 vignette began being used for a brief literary sketch or narrative.

Synonyms

Noun

• definition
• delineation
• depiction
• description
• picture
• portrait
• portraiture
• portrayal
• rendering
• sketch

Examples of vignette in a Sentence

Noun

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 on the Web

Noun

The guitars sound corroded and the drums feel paper thin, all while Mount Kimbie confront us with vignettes featuring intimacy-hungry characters that fight a current of loneliness and isolation. —Margaret Farrell, SPIN, 12 Apr. 2024

Raw images show some barrel distortion at wide angles, the inward pincushion effect at longer focal lengths, and a vignette at f/2.8. —PCMAG, 28 Mar. 2024

The series culminates with a vignette of 2024 Kresge Eminent Artist Nora Chapa Mendoza. —Brendel Hightower, Detroit Free Press, 13 Mar. 2024

Start small by creating small tabletop vignettes – or limit the space by creating a reef-like refuge in your home office. —Charlotte Observer, 31 Jan. 2024

Parton and Willie Nelson also lend their voices to vignettes on the album, as does Linda Martell, the first commercially successful Black woman country artist. —Caitlin O'Kane, CBS News, 2 Apr. 2024

For Raw capture, Adobe Lightroom Classic includes a profile that also compensates for the vignette visible at f/2.8. —PCMAG, 28 Mar. 2024

An Accessible Writer Professor Kahneman propagated his findings with an appealing writing style, using illustrative vignettes with which even lay readers could engage. —Robert D. Hershey Jr., New York Times, 27 Mar. 2024

But among the hundreds of weak subplots is a cute little vignette featuring Taylor Swift and then-boyfriend Taylor Lautner (a.k.a. —Janey Tracey, EW.com, 14 Mar. 2024

Word History

Etymology

Noun

French, from Middle French vignete, from diminutive of vigne vine — more at vine entry 1

First Known Use

Noun

1611, in the meaning defined at sense 3

Verb

1853, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Podcast

Get Word of the Day delivered to your inbox!

Kids Definition

vignette

noun

vi·​gnette

vin-ˈyet,

vēn-

: a brief description in words : sketch