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

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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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

These three novellas were written in the 1920s, after the fall of the empire, and in their baroque translation by John Batki they cast back upon bygone times with wistfulness, charm and winking humor.

From The Wall Street Journal • Apr. 8, 2026

Much of the historic baroque Old Town was destroyed during World War II, and under Soviet rule Narva became predominantly Russian-speaking.

From Barron's • Feb. 6, 2026

This dip takes its inspiration from a more baroque, arguably campy, ancestor: the seven-layer.

From Salon • Aug. 5, 2025

Particularly baroque screw-ups generally make it into the media, but for the most part these things don’t get screwed up.

From Los Angeles Times • Jul. 21, 2025

The two specialized in religious paintings by a Spanish baroque painter named Murillo, and they presented their fakes as stolen Murillo masterpieces.

From "The Mona Lisa Vanishes" by Nicholas Day

Related Words

• florid
• ornate
• rococo