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• Expressionism
  Expressionism

  noun
• expressionism
  expressionism

  noun

  (sometimes capital) an artistic and literary movement originating in Germany at the beginning of the 20th century, which sought to express emotions rather than to represent external reality: characterized by the use of symbolism and of exaggeration and distortion

Expressionism

American  

[ik-spresh-uh-niz-uhm] / ɪkˈsprɛʃ əˌnɪz əm /

noun

1. Fine Arts.

   1. (usually lowercase) a manner of painting, drawing, sculpting, etc., in which forms derived from nature are distorted or exaggerated and colors are intensified for emotive or expressive purposes.

   2. a style of art developed in the 20th century, characterized chiefly by heavy, often black lines that define forms, sharply contrasting, often vivid colors, and subjective or symbolic treatment of thematic material.

   3. German Expressionismus.  modern art, especially the experimental or nonacademic styles of contemporary art.

2. (often lowercase) a style of playwriting and stage presentation stressing the emotional content of a play, the subjective reactions of the characters, symbolic or abstract representations of reality, and nonnaturalistic techniques of scenic design.

3. Literature. a technique of distorting objects and events in order to represent them as they are perceived by a character in a literary work.

4. (usually lowercase) a phase in the development of early 20th-century music marked by the use of atonality and complex, unconventional rhythm, melody, and form, intended to express the composer's psychological and emotional life.

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expressionism British  

/ ɪkˈsprɛʃəˌnɪzəm /

noun

1. (sometimes capital) an artistic and literary movement originating in Germany at the beginning of the 20th century, which sought to express emotions rather than to represent external reality: characterized by the use of symbolism and of exaggeration and distortion

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expressionism Cultural  

1. An artistic style that departs from the conventions of realism (see also realism) and naturalism (see also naturalism) and seeks to convey inner experience by distorting rather than directly representing natural images. The highly personal visions communicated in the paintings of Vincent van Gogh are early examples of expressionism. Edvard Munch and Georges Rouault are considered expressionist painters.

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Other Word Forms

• Expressionist
  noun
• antiexpressionism
  noun
• antiexpressionist
  noun
• expressionist
  noun
• proexpressionism
  noun
• proexpressionist
  noun
• Expressionistic
  adjective
• antiexpressionistic
  adjective
• expressionistic
  adjective
• nonexpressionistic
  adjective
• proexpressionistic
  adjective
• semiexpressionistic
  adjective
• Expressionistically
  adverb

Etymology

Origin of Expressionism

1905–10; < German Expressionismus See expression, -ism

Explanation

Expressionism is a style of art dating from the early 1900s that emphasizes feelings and impressions over realism. You'll see many examples of expressionism in most large art museums. Some of the most famous followers of expressionism included Van Gogh, Matisse, Gaugin, and Kandinsky — all of whom can be called expressionists. This style of painting began around the turn of the 20th century and was popular for about 30 years, with the term expressionism eventually describing other art forms, including poetry and dance. Expressionism comes from expression, which was used in the art world to mean "way of expressing."

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

Expressionism expressionism

The 1960s were in thrall to Pop Art and Abstract Expressionism.

From BBC ● Jun. 12, 2026

Unsurprisingly John Chamberlain’s metal sculptures that captured the energy of Abstract Expressionism in three dimensions are a touchstone.

From The Wall Street Journal ● May 22, 2026

The often-stretched stylings and unconventional palette call to mind German Expressionism and the work of Egon Schiele.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Dec. 3, 2025

LACMA’s strength up until now, however, was German Expressionism, Barron said, adding that the museum’s collection of Austrian Expressionism was weak.

From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 8, 2025

Frasier considers Abstract Expressionism a tired, effete art form.

From "Woe Is I" by Patricia T. O'Conner

Rothko, the Latvian immigrant who helped define abstract expressionism, has emerged as this season’s one-man barometer of the art market’s health.

From The Wall Street Journal ● May 14, 2026

From abstract expressionism to pop art, the collection at the museum serves as a time capsule of pivotal artistic movements.

From BBC ● Feb. 16, 2025

After that, I went into an intensive research process thinking about her generation of artists, the women of abstract expressionism.

From Seattle Times ● Oct. 25, 2023

But you’ve never seen that exchange brought to life the way playwright-turned-filmmaker Tina Satter does with unnerving humidity and deadpan expressionism in her disorientingly tense feature debut “Reality.”

From Los Angeles Times ● May 29, 2023

The demand for fidelity of representation, for "truth to nature," so insistently made by the common man in his criticism of art, is justified even from the point of view of expressionism.

From The Principles of Aesthetics by Parker, Dewitt H.