gouache

American  

[gwahsh, goo-ahsh, gwash] / gwɑʃ, guˈɑʃ, gwaʃ /

noun

plural

gouaches

1. a technique of painting with opaque watercolors prepared with gum.

2. an opaque color used in painting a gouache.

3. a work painted using gouache.

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gouache British  

/ ɡʊˈɑːʃ /

noun

1. Also called: body colour.  a painting technique using opaque watercolour paint in which the pigments are bound with glue and the lighter tones contain white

2. the paint used in this technique

3. a painting done by this method

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Etymology

Origin of gouache

1880–85; < French < Italian guazzo place where there is water ≪ Latin aquātiō, derivative of aqua water

Example Sentences

“Young Lion” only measures about 4.5 inches tall, but Rembrandt used black chalk and white gouache to render it in minute detail, down to the animal’s eyelashes and the chain around his neck.

From The Wall Street Journal • Feb. 4, 2026

Nearby, lovely reconstructions in watercolor and gouache of several wall paintings were made onsite around 1960 by the well-known British archaeological illustrator, Piet de Jong.

From Los Angeles Times • Sep. 10, 2025

Glossy and imposing in oil, these waves look very different in a rarely seen, 6-by-9-foot gouache cartoon.

From New York Times • May 11, 2023

"I mixed the blue colour by hand especially for the occasion, using a selection of highest-quality gouache paints with beautifully deep pigments," she said.

From BBC • Apr. 18, 2023

My gouache painting of Buddy Gui’s house—about a mile away from our house—shows his garage door open and all his chain-saw sculptures dragged out onto his driveway.

From "Landscape with Invisible Hand" by M.T. Anderson