painted

American  

[peyn-tid] / ˈpeɪn tɪd /

adjective

1. reproduced or represented in paint.

   a painted image.

2. covered with a coating of paint.

   a painted chair.

3. unreal; artificial; feigned.

   a painted life.

4. exaggerated or misrepresented.

   a luridly painted version of what really happened.

5. covered with makeup, especially to excess.

6. brightly colored or multicolored (used in combinations).

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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

McClung painted the flutist after hearing him in an empty parking structure beside the shopping center.

From Los Angeles Times • Apr. 9, 2026

In the early 1980s, Richter painted 24 views of white, flickering candles that initially proved a commercial flop, with none selling when he debuted them.

From The Wall Street Journal • Apr. 9, 2026

Summer Fields was painted around 1961 and captures the "dying sunset spilling across the corner of a Catterline field".

From BBC • Apr. 7, 2026

Ortiz, who often painted Cynthia’s nails for her, knew immediately.

From Slate • Apr. 6, 2026

The actors, with their brightly painted faces and their satiny red and gold gowns, wailed out songs.

From "The Red Car to Hollywood" by Jennie Liu

Related Words

• composed
• designed
• illustrated