Synonyms of painting

painting 1 of 2

noun

ˈpān-tiŋ 

as in canvas

a picture created with oil paint

the Mona Lisa is a haunting painting of a woman with a most mysterious smile

Synonyms & Similar Words

• canvas
• mural
• watercolor
• oil
• fresco
• drawing
• panorama
• oil painting
• masterpiece
• etching
• sketch
• acrylic
• diptych
• gouache
• pastel
• triptych
• tempera
• finger painting
• distemper
• aquarelle
• showpiece
• pièce de résistance

painting

2 of 2

verb

present participle of paint

1

as in describing

to give a representation or account of in words

the description painted a perfect image of the sun setting over the ocean

Synonyms & Similar Words

• describing
• depicting
• portraying
• rendering
• sketching
• drawing
• setting out
• illustrating
• picturing
• delineating
• characterizing
• limning
• recounting
• defining
• imaging
• representing
• outlining
• relating
• displaying
• summarizing
• showing
• exhibiting
• telling
• narrating
• labeling
• reporting
• demonstrating
• tracing
• reciting
• suggesting
• qualifying
• rehearsing
• hinting
• drafting
• summing up
• silhouetting
• touching off
• reimaging
• redescribing
• vignetting

Antonyms & Near Antonyms

• coloring
• distorting
• twisting
• misrepresenting
• falsifying
• warping
• misstating
• perverting
• misdescribing
• garbling

2

as in tinting

to give color or a different color to

I've decided to paint the bathroom walls purple

Synonyms & Similar Words

• tinting
• staining
• coloring
• dyeing
• brightening
• pigmenting
• tingeing
• tincturing
• darkening
• striping
• bepainting
• lightening
• flecking
• dappling
• streaking
• daubing
• marbling
• toning (down)
• specking
• variegating
• striating
• patterning
• speckling
• mottling
• polychroming
• embrowning
• checkering

Antonyms & Near Antonyms

• bleaching
• whitening
• decolorizing
• blanching

Example Sentences

Recent Examples of painting

Noun

There is a black tarpaulin on the wall that’s been assaulted with paint and more than a dozen lamps suspended above it, blasting the painting with light as if to interrogate it about the circumstances of its creation. — Zachary Fine, New Yorker, 10 Aug. 2026

The matte paintings were a major part, and the landscapes are such a major part of the visual concept from the jump, and it’s supposed to draw you into the idea of the character’s emotional landscape. — Destiny Jackson, Deadline, 10 Aug. 2026

Verb

Channeling loss into color He started painting with his daughter-in-law, Ada Hernandez-Hernandez, during the pandemic to help manage his grief following Hurricane Maria and transition to life in Wisconsin. — Alyssa N. Salcedo, jsonline.com, 10 Aug. 2026

Also on the agenda are a live mural-painting competition and Lucha Libre-style wrestling matches. — Anne Gelhaus, Mercury News, 9 Aug. 2026

Phrases Containing painting

• oil painting