artistic
Americanadjective
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conforming to the standards of art; satisfying aesthetic requirements.
artistic productions.
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showing skill or excellence in execution.
artistic workmanship.
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exhibiting taste, discriminating judgment, or sensitivity.
an artistic arrangement of flowers; artistic handling of a delicate diplomatic situation.
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exhibiting an involvement in or appreciation of art, especially the fine arts.
He had wide-ranging artistic interests.
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involving only aesthetic considerations, usually taken as excluding moral, practical, religious, political, or similar concerns.
artistic principles.
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of art or artists.
artistic works.
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of, like, or thought of as characteristic of an artist.
an artistic temperament.
adjective
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of or characteristic of art or artists
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performed, made, or arranged decoratively and tastefully; aesthetically pleasing
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appreciative of and sensitive to beauty in art
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naturally gifted with creative skill
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
Etymology
Origin of artistic
Explanation
The adjective artistic describes people who are creative or creations called "art." While you might not consider the sculptor Oldenburg's inflatable toilet as "art," recreating something ordinary in a unique way is very artistic. Artistic often describes something pleasing to look at, but you don't have to like everything called artistic. If you make paintings, clay figures, or computer drawings, you're being artistic, because you're creating works of art. If you're creative in a less structured way — say, you arrange everything on your desk by shape and color so it looks nice and you enjoy doing it — that's artistic too. It may not always be "art," but it's still artistic creation.
Vocabulary lists containing artistic
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"Journeys," Vocabulary from Lesson 16
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Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
One of many joys of “Contrapposto” is observing Cricket’s artistic awakening via the mentors who guide him into his artistic consciousness.
From Los Angeles Times • Jun. 8, 2026
It’s an inclusive environment that rejects the solo artistic ego in favor of human-machine collaboration that almost immediately escapes its creator’s grasp.
From Los Angeles Times • Jun. 5, 2026
The gloriously confident Eden and the tormented Don seek clashing versions of artistic success, and when both eventually arrive there, the clash resounds and lingers.
From The Wall Street Journal • May 28, 2026
By identifying specific physical actions linked to timbre perception, the researchers have opened the door to studying how artistic expression emerges from the interaction between the body, brain, and sound.
From Science Daily • May 28, 2026
“One needs no artistic education to see this memorial for what it is, a black scar,” he testified at a meeting.
From "Boots on the Ground: America's War in Vietnam" by Elizabeth Partridge
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
