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• Beaux-Arts
  Beaux-Arts

  adjective

  noting or pertaining to a style of architecture, popularly associated with the École des Beaux-Arts in Paris, that prevailed in France in the late 19th century and that was adopted in the U.S. and elsewhere c1900, characterized by the free and eclectic use and adaptation of French architectural features of the 16th through 18th centuries combined so as to give a massive, elaborate, and often ostentatious effect, and also by the use of symmetrical plans preferably allowing vast amounts of interior space.
• beaux-arts
  beaux-arts

  plural noun

  another word for fine art

Beaux-Arts

American  

[boh-zahr, boh-zar] / boʊˈzɑr, boʊˈzar /

adjective

1. noting or pertaining to a style of architecture, popularly associated with the École des Beaux-Arts in Paris, that prevailed in France in the late 19th century and that was adopted in the U.S. and elsewhere c1900, characterized by the free and eclectic use and adaptation of French architectural features of the 16th through 18th centuries combined so as to give a massive, elaborate, and often ostentatious effect, and also by the use of symmetrical plans preferably allowing vast amounts of interior space.

2. resembling the architecture, architectural precepts, or teaching methods of the Ecole des Beaux-Arts in Paris: often used in a pejorative sense to designate excessive formalism disregarding considerations of structural truth, advanced aesthetic theory, rational planning, or economy.

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plural noun

1. (lowercase) the fine arts, as painting or music.

beaux-arts British  

/ bəʊˈzɑː /

plural noun

1. another word for fine art

2. (modifier) relating to the classical decorative style, esp that of the École des Beaux-Arts in Paris

   beaux-arts influences

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Etymology

Origin of Beaux-Arts

First recorded in 1815–25

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

Beaux-Arts beaux-arts

A brief stint as an apprentice architect taught him to draw in the Beaux-Arts mode but he quickly moved beyond this, as we see from the breathtaking drawing that opens the show.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Feb. 18, 2026

One thing it clarifies is why Jim Crow monuments are all rendered in the same backward, Beaux-Arts style, exploiting classical forms and elaborate ornamentation harnessed for the 1890s City Beautiful movement.

From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 22, 2025

Abidjan's École des Beaux-Arts would expose Aboudia to the Ivorian art icons whose influence can be found in his current work.

From BBC ● Jun. 1, 2024

Amid the backdrop of Mannerist statues and the names of great artists gracing the storied walls of Les Beaux-Arts, where Garavani, 91, once honed his craft, the runway was — in contrast — unmistakably contemporary.

From Seattle Times ● Oct. 1, 2023

Outside the Academie des Beaux-Arts he wanders for hours through the shops selling prints, eventually buying a drawing of the Hotel de Lauzun.

From "The Namesake" by Jhumpa Lahiri

Completed in 1923, the power plant closed in 2008, leaving the main turbine hall of its beaux-arts building abandoned—until last year, when it became a place to play padel.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 22, 2026

Lawmakers and ex-lawmakers, California Gov. Gavin Newsom, friends, former aides, former antagonists — all sat in a fan of folding white chairs arrayed before the beaux-arts landmark, sweltering in unseasonable 85-degree heat.

From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 5, 2023

Built in 1928 as part of a beaux-arts civic center, it sits in the heart of Duluth’s now-blighted downtown, where cocktail bars and coworking spaces form a checkerboard with abandoned storefronts.

From Seattle Times ● Mar. 12, 2023

After returning to France in 1831, Debret joined the Académie des beaux-arts.

From Textbooks ● Dec. 14, 2022

To-morrow there is to be a concert at the Cercle de la Méditerranée for the benefit of the free École des beaux-arts.

From Marie Bashkirtseff (From Childhood to Girlhood) by Marie Bashkirtseff