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:
“That hasn’t actually made its way, I don’t think, to the impressionist realm, where there are unbelievable female artists, Cassatt being probably the most famous, but also Berthe Morisot, Eva Gonzalès.”
From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 22, 2026
Lilly Cassirer Neubauer escaped Germany at the dawn of World War II by relinquishing to a Nazi art broker the exquisite impressionist masterpiece “Rue Saint-Honoré in the Afternoon. Effect of Rain,” by Camille Pissarro.
From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 16, 2026
The thieves dropped two paintings in their escape, said Bryan Masson, the mayor of Cagnes-sur-Mer, the French Riviera town where the French impressionist spent his final years and that now houses the museum.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 8, 2026
One of those to repost the videos was the comedian and impressionist Matt Forde.
From BBC ● Jun. 24, 2026
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
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
It’s more evidence that Johnson is one of sharpest impressionists in comedy today.
From Los Angeles Times ● Mar. 12, 2023
Q: Your distinctive speaking style is irresistible to impressionists.
From Washington Post ● Feb. 17, 2022
Verhaeren has rendered signal service to our time by being the first to recognise and proclaim the great impressionists and all innovators in art and poetry.
From ?mile Verhaeren by Stefan Zweig
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.
