impressionist
Americannoun
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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
In July 2006, Manhattan prosecutors charged Doyle with the theft of a bronze sculpture of a nude dancer by French impressionist Edgar Degas valued at $600,000.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jan. 11, 2026
Lu’s songwriting is more impressionist than hook-driven, writing quickly to capture ephemeral feelings.
From Los Angeles Times ● Nov. 15, 2024
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
Before long, everyone in the Einsatzstab Reichsleiter Rosenberg— the men out there scouring the continent for hidden libraries, concealed prayer scrolls, closeted impressionist paintings—will be handed rifles and sent into the fire.
From "All the Light We Cannot See" by Anthony Doerr
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The gallery also features works by impressionists Edouard Manet, Claude Monet and Paul Cezanne.
From BBC ● Aug. 18, 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
Back in the ’70s, impressionists used to do Nixon, and they were probably more accurate.
From Los Angeles Times ● Dec. 11, 2023
“All the impressionists even had classes with each other.”
From New York Times ● Apr. 22, 2023
Yet there is no uncertainty, no mistiness in his form, as there is in that of some of the other impressionists.
From Musical Portraits Interpretations of Twenty Modern Composers by Rosenfeld, Paul
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.