painterly

[ peyn-ter-lee ]

/ ˈpeɪn tər li /

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adjective

of, relating to, or characteristic of a painter.

Fine Arts. characterized by qualities of color, stroke, or texture perceived as distinctive to the art of painting, especially the rendering of forms and images in terms of color or tonal relations rather than of contour or line.

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Origin of painterly

First recorded in 1580–90; painter¹ + -ly

Words nearby painterly

painted tongue, painted trillium, painted turtle, painted woman, painter, painterly, painter's colic, paint horse, painting, paint oneself into a corner, paint pot

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023

How to use painterly in a sentence

It’s my choice because of the awe-inspiring details and the painterly quality of the composition.
These are our top space images of all time|Science News Staff|November 1, 2022|Science News
It then combined that analysis with an automated search of the photography website Flickr to help it generate painterly collages in the mood of the original article.
Artificial intelligence challenges what it means to be creative|Richard Moss|February 17, 2022|Science News
After peeling back the male petals to uncover a pollen-dusted part, she brushes it across the female’s orange ovary with a painterly stroke.
Indigenous farmers are ‘rematriating’ centuries-old seeds to plant a movement|Kalen Goodluck|February 10, 2022|Popular-Science
Regal in posture, resplendent in jewel-toned gowns and framed by painterly cinematography, this Anne is as unforgettable as she is unconventional.
5 Great New December 2021 TV Shows to Binge Over the Holidays|Judy Berman|December 23, 2021|Time

The ironic painterly stroke and the disembodied functional object are a perfect Pop pair.
15 Most Bonkers Chairs at Pop Art Design in London|Chloë Ashby|October 23, 2013|DAILY BEAST
Whatever else anyone may say about him, he had probably the most painterly eye of any movie director.
Monument Valley From the Eyes of a Krazy Kat and John Ford Fan|Malcolm Jones|February 3, 2012|DAILY BEAST
Together, they're a portrait of Hopper—an assortment of memories and places organized around his cinematic and painterly eye.
Dennis Hopper's Cinematic Art|Isabel Wilkinson|July 13, 2010|DAILY BEAST

British Dictionary definitions for painterly

painterly

/ (ˈpeɪntəlɪ) /

adjective

having qualities peculiar to painting, esp the depiction of shapes by means of solid masses of colour, rather than by linesCompare linear (def. 5)

of or characteristic of a painter; artistic

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012