Expressionism

[ ik-spresh-uh-niz-uhm ]

/ ɪkˈsprɛʃ əˌnɪz əm /

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noun

Fine Arts.

(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.
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.
German Ex·pres·si·o·nis·mus [eks-pres-ee-oh-nis-moos]. /ɛksˌprɛs i oʊˈnɪs mʊs/. modern art, especially the experimental or nonacademic styles of contemporary art.

(often lowercase)Theater. 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.

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

(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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Origin of Expressionism

1905–10; <German ExpressionismusSee expression, -ism

OTHER WORDS FROM Expressionism

Ex·pres·sion·ist, noun, adjectiveEx·pres·sion·is·tic, adjectiveEx·pres·sion·is·ti·cal·ly, adverban·ti·ex·pres·sion·ism, noun

an·ti·ex·pres·sion·ist, noun, adjectivean·ti·ex·pres·sion·is·tic, adjectivenon·ex·pres·sion·is·tic, adjectivesem·i·ex·pres·sion·is·tic, adjective

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023

How to use Expressionism in a sentence

Hitchcock's sensibility was being shaped by the German Expressionist masters.
Alfred Hitchcock’s Fade to Black: The Great Director’s Final Days|David Freeman|December 13, 2014|DAILY BEAST
“When I went to graduate school, I was still experimenting with being an abstract expressionist,” he said.
Steve Mumford: The Artist Who Went to War|Justin Jones|February 28, 2014|DAILY BEAST
His colorful, glorious expressionist new works include numerous nude women.
The Second Life of San Miguel de Allende|Michele Willens|February 26, 2014|DAILY BEAST
Loeser is a self-described New Expressionist, but his aesthetics are more about talk than practice.
This Week’s Hot Reads: February 18, 2013|Mythili Rao|February 18, 2013|DAILY BEAST

A 1984 self-portrait by the great Indonesian expressionist Affandi, who died in 1990.
Indonesia's Master Lays It On Thick|Blake Gopnik|January 26, 2013|DAILY BEAST
He is having it done into an expressionist placard and it will undoubtedly restore his standing with the Council of Ten.
Erik Dorn|Ben Hecht
An expressionist is one who expresses himself at all times in any way that is necessary and peculiar to him.
Adventures in the Arts|Marsden Hartley
Verse of deeper quality is furnished by amateurdom's foremost expressionist, Anne Tillery Renshaw, two of whose poems appear.
Writings in the United Amateur, 1915-1922|Howard Phillips Lovecraft
One porter is discovered leaning against an automatic sweet machine designed by an Expressionist sculptor.
Punch, or the London Charivari, Vol. 158, April 14, 1920|Various

British Dictionary definitions for Expressionism

expressionism

/ (ɪkˈsprɛʃəˌnɪzəm) /

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

Derived forms of expressionism

expressionist, noun, adjectiveexpressionistic, adjective

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Cultural definitions for Expressionism

expressionism

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.