mannerism
Americannoun
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a habitual or characteristic manner, mode, or way of doing something; distinctive quality or style, as in behavior or speech.
He has an annoying mannerism of tapping his fingers while he talks. They copied his literary mannerisms but always lacked his ebullience.
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marked or excessive adherence to an unusual or a particular manner, especially if affected.
Natural courtesy is a world apart from snobbish mannerism.
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(usually initial capital letter) a style in the fine arts developed principally in Europe during the 16th century, chiefly characterized by a complex perspectival system, elongation of forms, strained gestures or poses of figures, and intense, often strident color.
noun
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a distinctive and individual gesture or trait; idiosyncrasy
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(often capital) a principally Italian movement in art and architecture between the High Renaissance and Baroque periods (1520–1600) that sought to represent an ideal of beauty rather than natural images of it, using characteristic distortion and exaggeration of human proportions, perspective, etc
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adherence to a distinctive or affected manner, esp in art or literature
Other Word Forms
- mannerist noun
- manneristic adjective
- manneristically adverb
- nonmanneristic adjective
- semimanneristic adjective
Etymology
Origin of mannerism
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.
The diversity of their speech patterns and physical mannerisms showed the breadth of the spectrum.
From Los Angeles Times
By his teen years in Annapolis, Md., Duvall had become an excellent mimic, absorbing dialects and mannerisms wherever he happened to be.
From Los Angeles Times
In “The Unknown,” he portrays not only Elliott but all the people he interacts with, and differentiates them crisply with convincing accents but without costume changes or flashy mannerisms.
She has Nina’s mannerisms detailed down to their minutia.
From Salon
Ramírez said that even his mannerisms, which had changed from years up north, quickly identified him as an outsider.
From Los Angeles Times
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.
