baroque

American  

[buh-rohk, ba-rawk] / bəˈroʊk, baˈrɔk /

adjective

1. 

   (often initial capital letter) of or relating to a style of architecture and art originating in Italy in the early 17th century and variously prevalent in Europe and the New World for a century and a half, characterized by free and sculptural use of the classical orders and ornament, by forms in elevation and plan suggesting movement, and by dramatic effect in which architecture, painting, sculpture, and the decorative arts often worked to combined effect.

2. (sometimes initial capital letter) of or relating to the musical period following the Renaissance, extending roughly from 1600 to 1750.

3. extravagantly ornate, florid, and convoluted in character or style.

   the baroque prose of the novel's more lurid passages.

4. irregular in shape.

   baroque pearls.

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noun

• baroques
  plural

1. (often initial capital letter) the baroque style or period.

2. anything extravagantly ornamented, especially something so ornate as to be in bad taste.

3. an irregularly shaped pearl.

baroque British  

/ bəˈrəʊk, bəˈrɒk /

noun

1. a style of architecture and decorative art that flourished throughout Europe from the late 16th to the early 18th century, characterized by extensive ornamentation

2. a 17th-century style of music characterized by extensive use of the thorough bass and of ornamentation

3. any ornate or heavily ornamented style

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adjective

1. denoting, being in, or relating to the baroque

2. (of pearls) irregularly shaped

baroque Cultural  

1. A period in the arts, visual and musical, from about 1600 to about 1750, marked by elaborate ornamentation and efforts to create dramatic effects. Johann Sebastian Bach, George Frederick Handel, and Antonio Vivaldi were great composers of the baroque era.

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Other Word Forms

Noun Inflected Forms

• baroques
  plural

Etymology

Origin of baroque

1755–65; < French < Portuguese barroco, barroca irregularly shaped pearl (of obscure origin; compare Spanish berrueco, barrueco granitic crag, irregular pearl, spherical nodule), probably conflated with Medieval Latin baroco invented word for a kind of obfuscating syllogism

Explanation

Something baroque is overly ornate, like a paisley red velvet jacket with tassels, or music that has a lot going on and might include a harpsichord. Anything with a complicated design can be baroque but it also refers to a style of art, music, and architecture from 17th Century Italy (and is then sometimes capitalized). Although it has roots in the Portuguese word barroco meaning "imperfect pearl" not everything baroque is imperfect. Caravaggio and Rubens are considered baroque painters, and baroque composers include Vivaldi, Bach, and Handel. Although rococo and baroque both describe something over-the-top, sticklers will save baroque for something with heft and use rococo for lighter designs, like that velvet jacket. Historically, Rococo comes after the Baroque period.

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

baroque baroques

In “Deep Water,” there is so much practical attention given to the couple dealing with their young daughter and the realities of child care even as there’s a baroque murder plot happening around them.

From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 12, 2026

Its baroque, acoustic sounds of a pastoral countryside in ye olde England mesh disturbingly well with softly sung, darkly opaque lyrics.

From Salon ● Jun. 5, 2026

It has a chorus that would make Celine Dion jealous, and features a baroque piano breakdown before an almighty key change in the final refrain.

From BBC ● May 15, 2026

Mr. Venables’s music, built on baroque and folk styles and instruments, enriches and illuminates the text.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Dec. 5, 2025

There are guest obligations on everyone who came for the coronation, but guest obligations among the Folk are baroque enough that I am never sure if they protect me or not.

From "The Cruel Prince" by Holly Black

The Pinctada maxima are the biggest oysters in the world The pearls, once harvested, range from perfect spheres to irregular "baroques".

From BBC ● Sep. 9, 2012

There, the baroques, the arabesques, the colourings gorgeous, are dead, at least inanimate; here, they palpitate with life.

From The Book of Khalid by Ameen Fares Rihani

Most of the baroques are too irregular in shape to have any special name applying to their form.

From A Text-Book of Precious Stones for Jewelers and the Gem-Loving Public by Frank Bertram Wade

To me they presented little but horror—to many they will seem less terrible than baroques.

From Lords of the Housetops Thirteen Cat Tales by Carl Van Vechten

Scattered among them were the flashing emeralds of the glaciers and the immense pallid baroques of the snow fields.

From The Metal Monster by Abraham Merritt

Related Words

• florid
• ornate
• rococo