graphic

[graf-ik]

SEE MORE SYNONYMS FOR graphic ON THESAURUS.COM

adjective Also graph·i·cal.

giving a clear and effective picture; vivid: a graphic account of an earthquake.

pertaining to the use of diagrams, graphs, mathematical curves, or the like; diagrammatic.

of, relating to, or expressed by writing: graphic symbols.

written, inscribed, or drawn.

depicted in a realistic or vivid manner: graphic sex and violence.

containing graphic descriptions: a graphic movie.

Geology. (of a rock) having a texture formed by the intergrowth of certain minerals so as to resemble written characters.

Mathematics. pertaining to the determination of values, solution of problems, etc., by direct measurement on diagrams instead of by ordinary calculations.

of or relating to the graphic arts.

noun

a product of the graphic arts, as a drawing or print.

a computer-generated image.

Origin of graphic

1630–40; < Latin graphicus of painting or drawing < Greek graphikós able to draw or paint, equivalent to gráph(ein) to draw, write + -ikos -ic; cognate with carve

Related formsgraph·i·cal·ly, adverbgraph·i·cal·ness, graph·ic·ness, nounnon·graph·ic, adjectivenon·graph·i·cal, adjectivenon·graph·i·cal·ly, adverbnon·graph·i·cal·ness, nounun·graph·ic, adjectiveun·graph·i·cal, adjectiveun·graph·i·cal·ly, adverb

Synonyms for graphic

SEE MORE SYNONYMS FOR graphic ON THESAURUS.COM

1. striking, telling; detailed. See picturesque.

-graphic

a combination of -graph and -ic, forming adjectives corresponding to nouns ending in -graph: telegraphic.

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2019

Related Words for graphic

telling, concrete, stirring, striking, colorful, compelling, comprehensible, convincing, definite, descriptive, detailed, distinct, eloquent, expressive, figurative, forcible, illustrative, incisive, intelligible, lively

Examples from the Web for graphic

Contemporary Examples of graphic

Most of it is taken up by a graphic inviting the visitor to participate in the 2016 online presidential straw poll.
Today’s GOP: Still Cool With Racist Pandering?
Michael Tomasky
January 7, 2015
Surely all this graphic talk of gastrointestinal distress is making you queasy.
Why My Norovirus Panic Makes Me Sick
Lizzie Crocker
January 5, 2015
Detainees were described, in graphic detail, being rectally fed against their will.
Inside the CIA’s Sadistic Dungeon
Tim Mak
December 9, 2014
For anyone who cared to watch, the event and its denouement provided a graphic demonstration that the Iron Curtain was crumbling.
How Havel Inspired the Velvet Revolution
Michael Zantovsky
December 6, 2014
His work also provides a graphic account of injured females who were assaulted by marauding “gangs” of Adélie males.
Lovable ‘Madagascar’ Penguins Are Known to Rape and Torture in Real Life
Asawin Suebsaeng
November 26, 2014

Historical Examples of graphic

It will enable me to judge of your powers of graphic description.
Cleo The Magnificent
Louis Zangwill
After scoring over my calmness in this graphic way he nodded wisely.
The Secret Sharer
Joseph Conrad
And I discovered in his speeches that this man of books could be graphic and picturesque.
The Arrow of Gold
Joseph Conrad
This, rather than the imaginative power, it was that made his descriptions so graphic.
Chambers's Edinburgh Journal, No. 453
Various
It was a first night, and he was taking sketches for The Graphic.
Sketches in Lavender, Blue and Green
Jerome K. Jerome

British Dictionary definitions for graphic

graphic

graphical

adjective

vividly or clearly describeda graphic account of the disaster

sexually explicit

of or relating to writing or other inscribed representationsgraphic symbols

maths using, relating to, or determined by a grapha graphic representation of the figures

of or relating to the graphic arts

geology having or denoting a texture formed by intergrowth of the crystals to resemble writinggraphic granite

Derived Formsgraphically or graphicly, adverbgraphicalness or graphicness, noun

Word Origin for graphic

C17: from Latin graphicus, from Greek graphikos, from graphein to write; see carve

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

Word Origin and History for graphic

adj.

"vivid," 1570s (implied in graphically), from Latin graphicus "picturesque," from Greek graphikos "of or for writing, belonging to drawing, picturesque," from graphe "writing, drawing," from graphein "to write" (see -graphy). Meaning "of or pertaining to drawing" is from 1756. Related: Graphically. Graphic design is attested by 1956. Graphic equalizer is from 1969.