pictorial

[ pik-tawr-ee-uhl, -tohr-ee-uhl ]

adjective

1. pertaining to, expressed in, or of the nature of a picture.
2. illustrated by or containing pictures:

   a pictorial history.

3. of or relating to the art of painting and drawing pictures, the pictures themselves, or their makers:

   the pictorial masterpieces of the Renaissance.

4. having or suggesting the visual appeal or imagery of a picture:

   a pictorial metaphor.

   Synonyms: telling, striking, vivid, picturesque

noun

1. a periodical in which pictures constitute an important feature.
2. a magazine feature that is primarily photographic.

pictorial

/ pɪkˈtɔːrɪəl /

adjective

1. relating to, consisting of, or expressed by pictures
2. (of books, newspapers, etc) containing pictures
3. of or relating to painting or drawing
4. (of language, style, etc) suggesting a picture; vivid; graphic

noun

1. 1. a magazine, newspaper, etc, containing many pictures
   2. ( capital when part of a name )

      the Sunday Pictorial

Derived Forms

• picˈtorially, adverb

Other Words From

• pic·tori·al·ly adverb
• pic·tori·al·ness noun
• nonpic·tori·al adjective
• nonpic·tori·al·ly adverb
• semi·pic·tori·al adjective
• semi·pic·tori·al·ly adverb
• unpic·tori·al adjective
• unpic·tori·al·ly adverb

Word History and Origins

Origin of pictorial¹

1640–50; < Latin pictōri ( us ) of painting ( pic- , variant stem of pingere to paint + -tōrius -tory ¹ ) + -al ¹

Word History and Origins

Origin of pictorial¹

C17: from Late Latin pictōrius, from Latin pictor painter, from pingere to paint

Example Sentences

Now in terms of equipment, ancient writers and pictorial evidence rather paint a vague picture of the renowned foot companions.

From Realm of History

Meanwhile, composers became increasingly interested in pictorial descriptions of environmental and human noises such as thunder, wind, and the din of battle.

From Nautilus

The Telleriano-Remensis uses a pictorial representation of a 52-year cycle to roughly date the quakes.

From Science News

Those images helped the researchers match some pictorial accounts of quakes, including one in 1507, to later descriptions of the events.

From Science News

Both artists play with print and bookmaking formats, using internal frames to boost pictorial drama.

From Washington Post

A helpful pictorial index provides photographs of the actual objects.

From The Daily Beast

They are never portraits of specific individuals who might interest us, even visually, apart from their pictorial roles.

From The Daily Beast

He declared them to be “a pictorial representation of England as a free society and the liberator of other peoples.”

From The Daily Beast

One little girl attempted to smell at the trees in a drawing and pretended to feed some pictorial dogs.

From Project Gutenberg

With less intelligent children traces of this tendency to take pictorial representation for reality may appear as late as four.

From Project Gutenberg

Calmly we seated ourselves in the "arm chair," and continued our labors upon our magnificent Pictorial.

From Project Gutenberg

The use of pictorial representations appears often to have been a matter of necessity.

From Project Gutenberg

Another slab bears the outline of a little pig, the pictorial translation of the somewhat singular name Porcella.

From Project Gutenberg

Related Words

• descriptive
• illustrated
• photographic
• visual
• vivid