impressionist
Americannoun
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impressionists
plural
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a person who follows or adheres to the theories, methods, and practices of impressionism, especially in the fields of painting, music, or literature.
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an entertainer who does impressions.
adjective
noun
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(usually capital) any of the French painters of the late 19th century who were exponents of impressionism
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(sometimes capital) any artist, composer, or writer who uses impressionism
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an entertainer who impersonates famous people
adjective
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
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impressionisticadjective
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nonimpressionisticadjective
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semi-impressionisticadjective
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impressionisticallyadverb
Inflected Forms
Nouns
Etymology
Origin of impressionist
From the French word impressionniste, dating back to 1875–80. See impression, -ist
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:
British paintings with repeat sales posted the best mean return of 3.4%, followed by impressionist works with 3.1%.
From Barron's ● Apr. 17, 2026
He spent the better part of a decade in the impressionist and modern-art department before moving to work under Tobias Meyer, then Sotheby’s worldwide head of contemporary art and principal auctioneer.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Nov. 22, 2025
Born in Worcestershire in 1958, Sir Lenny has been performing since he was 16 years old, first as an impressionist on a TV talent show and then as a stand-up comedian.
From BBC ● May 20, 2025
Nahmad is the son of a billionaire art dealer; his family has one of the world’s largest collections of impressionist and modernist art.
From Slate ● Oct. 28, 2024
From the employee side of the window, the outside world looked fluid, all the people on the other side wavy, like an impressionist watercolor.
From "Legendary Frybread Drive-In" by Cynthia Leitich Smith
Marvel star Stan avoids portraying Trump as a caricature villain in the film, or in the exaggerated, comedic way Trump is often presented by impressionists.
From BBC ● Oct. 15, 2024
The fluid brushstrokes made Hals a major influence of later artists like Vincent van Gogh and impressionists like Édouard Manet.
From Seattle Times ● Feb. 13, 2024
“All the impressionists even had classes with each other.”
From New York Times ● Apr. 22, 2023
That slight, Rales explained in a 2012 Washington Post interview, drew him to abstract impressionists, who were treated in their day as artistic “outlaws.”
From Washington Post ● Mar. 14, 2023
Still others are impressionists; and instead of testing a work by recognized critical canons, they simply record how "it strikes them."
From Elementary Guide to Literary Criticism by F. V. N. (Franklin Verzelius Newton) Painter
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.
