painted
Americanadjective
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reproduced or represented in paint.
a painted image.
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covered with a coating of paint.
a painted chair.
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unreal; artificial; feigned.
a painted life.
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exaggerated or misrepresented.
a luridly painted version of what really happened.
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covered with makeup, especially to excess.
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brightly colored or multicolored (used in combinations).
Other Word Forms
- unpainted adjective
- well-painted adjective
Etymology
Origin of painted
Middle English word dating back to 1250–1300; see origin at paint, -ed 2
Explanation
Anything that's painted is either covered or decorated with paint. Brightly painted walls can cheer up a room that would otherwise be dark and dull. Your colorfully painted kitchen chairs are coated with different shades of paint, and your painted fingernails might be dabbed with shiny silver nail polish. Several types of animals are also painted because they have bright or varied stripes of color on their bodies — like painted turtles' colorful shells and painted storks' bright feathers. Painted comes from paint and its Latin root, pingere, "to paint, embroider, or tattoo."
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 walls around Equatorial Guinea's notorious Bata prison were freshly painted salmon-pink for Pope Leo XIV's visit Wednesday, but inside there was no masking the acrid smell of sweat and urine.
From Barron's • Apr. 23, 2026
The piece, published by the outlet last week, painted Patel’s tenure as run through with extended, “unexplained absences.”
From Salon • Apr. 20, 2026
The walls of one of the rooms in the centre were painted with motivational messages, such as "Money Coming From Everywhere" in Chinese letters.
From BBC • Apr. 18, 2026
The tip of the firearm was painted orange, resembling a toy gun, the Sheriff’s Department wrote in a Facebook post detailing the arrest.
From Los Angeles Times • Apr. 16, 2026
Her eyes land on the mural behind the stage, where one of the painted dancers is wearing bright red lipstick that clashes with her pink beaded collar.
From "Legendary Frybread Drive-In" by Cynthia Leitich Smith
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.
