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

Explanation

Gouache is a kind of paint that some artists use. When you paint with gouache, you mix it with water. However, unlike watercolors, it's not translucent. Commercial artists often choose to use gouache for illustrations or posters. It has many qualities of watercolor paints (you can add water to thin it, and it dries matte rather than glossy), but the final effect is completely opaque, like acrylics or oil paints. You can also call the painting that results from using these paints a gouache. The word simply means "watercolor" in French, from the Latin root aquatio, "watering place."

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

A pioneer of the Black Arts Movement in Britain, Ms. Johnson creates large, delicately drawn works on paper with pastels and gouache and acrylic paint that have the scale and potency of paintings.

From New York Times • Oct. 6, 2023

The original artwork for the invitation was hand-painted in watercolour and gouache.

From BBC • Apr. 5, 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