silhouette

[sil-oo-et]

noun

1. a two-dimensional representation of the outline of an object, as a cutout or configurational drawing, uniformly filled in with black, especially a black-paper, miniature cutout of the outlines of a person's face in profile.

2. the outline or general shape of something.

   the slim silhouette of a skyscraper.

3. a dark image outlined against a lighter background.

verb (used with object)

silhouetted, silhouetting 

1. to show in or as if in a silhouette.

2. Printing.,  to remove the background details from (a halftone cut) so as to produce an outline effect.

silhouette

/ ˌsɪluːˈɛt /

noun

1. the outline of a solid figure as cast by its shadow

2. an outline drawing filled in with black, often a profile portrait cut out of black paper and mounted on a light ground

verb

1. (tr) to cause to appear in silhouette

Other Word Forms

• unsilhouetted adjective

Word History and Origins

Origin of silhouette¹

First recorded in 1790–1800; from French à la silhouette, after Etienne de Silhouette (1709–67), French finance minister; the surname Silhouette is ultimately from Basque Zilhoeta, from zilo, zilho, zulo “hole” + -eta, toponymic suffix

Word History and Origins

Origin of silhouette¹

C18: named after Étienne de Silhouette (1709–67), French politician, perhaps referring to silhouettes as partial portraits, with a satirical allusion to Silhouette's brief career as controller general (1759)

Example Sentences

Several unnerving things are happening at once, including the presence of a silhouetted stalker, old bones that give the dog nightmares and Todd’s unpredictable mood swings.

Read more on Los Angeles Times

"Not to erase it, but to store it, looking ahead, coming back to bits, traces or entire silhouettes from time to time, like revisiting memories."

Read more on BBC

But in the age of curated feeds and chatbot emails, we need to be careful that we don’t become a single algorithm-approved silhouette.

Read more on Salon

"Almost every scene starts with Rafferty's silhouette in a window in a cloud of smoke and I thought 'sign me up, that's really cool'."

Read more on BBC

Cinematographer Michael Bauman puts together a gorgeous, silhouetted shot of St. Carlos’ skateboarding scouts vaulting over rooftops in front of a building lit up to look like the American flag.

Read more on Los Angeles Times

Related Words

• contour 
• likeness 
• portrait 
• shade 
• shadow 
• shape