fresco
Americannoun
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frescoes,
plural
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frescos
plural
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Also called buon fresco. Also called true fresco. the art or technique of painting on a moist, plaster surface with colors ground up in water or a limewater mixture.
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a picture or design so painted.
verb (used with object)
noun
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a very durable method of wall-painting using watercolours on wet plaster or, less properly, dry plaster ( fresco secco ), with a less durable result
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a painting done in this way
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
Inflected Forms
Nouns
Etymology
Origin of fresco
First recorded in 1590–1600; from Italian: “cool, fresh,” of Germanic origin; see fresh
Explanation
Whether you've studied art history or not, you're probably familiar with the world's most famous fresco: Michelangelo's paintings on the walls and ceiling of the Sistine Chapel in Rome. To paint a fresco, you must apply paint to freshly applied plaster that is still wet, and you better get it right the first time. Too slow and the plaster hardens, and then you've got a lot of chipping away to do. Fresco comes from the Italian fresco, meaning "cool" or "fresh," which describes exactly the fast, unlabored technique required of fresco painting.
Vocabulary lists containing fresco
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Stroke of Genius: Words About Painting
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Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
See Examples For:
The extraordinary sanctuary offers a “fully private backyard paradise,” the listing states, complete with an al fresco kitchen, fire pit, and tranquil koi pond.
From MarketWatch ● Aug. 11, 2026
Both have pretty plants, chairs for al fresco dining - and one of the UK's busiest motorways.
From BBC ● Jul. 21, 2026
Renata Pintus, who heads the masonry department at the Opificio delle Pietre Dure, Florence's famous restoration workshop, told AFP it had been a "privilege" to work on Giotto's famous fresco cycle.
From Barron's ● Jun. 12, 2026
During warmer months, the patio offers an excellent spot for al fresco dining.
From Salon ● Jun. 11, 2026
It took a moment before I realized that it was a leafy replica of Michelangelo’s fresco of Adam from the Sistine Chapel.
From "Miss Peregrine's Home for Peculiar Children" by Ransom Riggs
We would be sipping ice-cold spritzes at cafés overlooking the Mediterranean, frolicking down cobblestone streets lined with charming boutiques, and marveling at the frescoes and marble sculptures adorning grand cathedrals.
From MarketWatch ● Aug. 18, 2026
Once virtually lost to memory after being painted over with whitewash, the frescoes began to be uncovered in the mid-19th century -- but the work left scratches and pockets of white on the frescoed walls.
From Barron's ● Jun. 12, 2026
That project arguably reached its apotheosis in his 28 frescoes on the life of Francis that run along the nave of the upper church in Assisi.
From The Wall Street Journal ● May 11, 2026
Even the prosecutor touring a buried villa that’s become a crime scene, illegally stripped of its frescoes, bemoans what’s been lost when thieves rob a people of their ancestors’ memories.
From Los Angeles Times ● Mar. 13, 2026
Animated frescoes arrange and rearrange into different celestial scenes: the gods and goddesses, an everlasting rose, the kings and queens of old, the islands of Orléans, the heavens.
From "The Belles" by Dhonielle Clayton
Alongside the spectacle of execution and the glimmering blood, Mary, John, St. Dominic and others beside Christ in many of these frescos cover their faces or turn away.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Apr. 12, 2026
The frescos on the ceiling, the intricate wooden and stone carvings that punctuate the space, they’re all in perfect condition.
From Los Angeles Times ● May 15, 2025
Inside the breathtaking Art Deco interiors of the Palais de la Porte Doree, Issey Miyake ’s guests admired wall-to-wall frescos and bas-reliefs of exotic scenes lit up in dappled lighting.
From Seattle Times ● Mar. 1, 2024
Discoveries so far include golden tiles, jade sculptures, mosaics and frescos, weapons, and remains of three mammoths.
From Reuters ● Aug. 3, 2023
He now painted the "Annunciation" for the Cathedral of Treviso, and executed several frescos.
From Famous European Artists by Sarah K. Bolton
Once virtually lost to memory after being painted over with whitewash, the frescoes began to be uncovered in the mid-19th century -- but the work left scratches and pockets of white on the frescoed walls.
From Barron's ● Jun. 12, 2026
The New York County Courthouse's Roman façade and frescoed interiors have played backdrop to many iconic movies and television shows - perhaps, most famously, Goodfellas.
From BBC ● Oct. 24, 2023
Archaeologists have excavated deep under the walled garden of the Palazzo della Rovere since 2020 as part of planned renovations on the frescoed Renaissance building.
From Seattle Times ● Jul. 26, 2023
On Tuesday, the two autocratic presidents will dine at a state banquet in a richly frescoed hall used by a long line of Russian czars.
From Los Angeles Times ● Mar. 21, 2023
Walking into the library, I took in my breath sharply and stopped: glass-fronted bookcases and Gothic panels, stretching fifteen feet to a frescoed and plaster-medallioned ceiling.
From "The Secret History" by Donna Tartt
The medium made famous by Michelangelo, da Vinci and Fra Angelico, frescoing is a delicate process that entails crushing pigments and painting them into wet plaster before it dries.
From Washington Post ● May 6, 2021
Near the end of his torturous years of frescoing, Michelangelo was painting right over the elevated area where the pope would sit on his gilded throne.
From Washington Post ● Dec. 5, 2012
"What a beautiful home Mrs. Hayden has!" said Mrs. Ferris to her neighbor with the severe collar and plain hair, as they examined the exquisite frescoing on the parlor ceiling.
From The Right Knock A Story by Helen Van-Anderson
I'm sick; and it's medicine I need, not frescoing.'
From Roads of Destiny by O. Henry
There is none of the "dim, religious light" in the interior decoration of white and gold, the subtle colouring of the symbolic frescoing and the brilliance of the gold and brazen altar furnishing.
From Famous Firesides of French Canada by Mary Wilson Alloway
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
