pastiche
Americannoun
-
a literary, musical, or artistic piece consisting wholly or chiefly of motifs or techniques borrowed from one or more sources.
-
an incongruous combination of materials, forms, motifs, etc., taken from different sources; hodgepodge.
noun
-
a work of art that mixes styles, materials, etc
-
a work of art that imitates the style of another artist or period
Etymology
Origin of pastiche
1700–10; < French < Italian pasticcio pasticcio
Explanation
The next time you see a movie that you think is a cheap imitation of an older, better movie, you can sound like a film critic by dismissing the picture as a thoughtless pastiche. A pastiche is an artwork that copies the style of another work or that combines various, distinct styles together into one work. A pastiche can also be a musical medley, or the piecing together of various songs. Pastiche comes from the Italian word pasticcio, which can refer to a pie containing a mix of ingredients, such as meat and pasta.
Vocabulary lists containing pastiche
Poetry: Literary Devices
Looking to grow your vocabulary? Check out this interactive, curated word list from our team of English language specialists at Vocabulary.com – one of over 17,000 lists we've built to help learners worldwide!
Quiz yourself on these words spoken by the man at the center of the "Laurel" / "Yanny" craze!
Interested in learning more words like this one? Our team at Vocabulary.com has got you covered! You can review flashcards, quiz yourself, practice spelling, and more – and it's all completely free to use!
Blink
Want to remember this word for good? Start your learning journey today with our library of interactive, themed word lists built by the experts at Vocabulary.com – we'll help you make the most of your study time!
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.
These landscapes, portraits and figures, often verging on pastiche, present an academic artist rather than a painter: too much mind, not enough heart.
From The Wall Street Journal • May 30, 2026
He was the runner-up in 2022, armed with the cunning plan of writing a good song – the 70s glam rock pastiche Space Man – and being good at performing it.
From BBC • May 17, 2026
Both foes imagine a self-consciously cinematic scene, something audiences themselves assumed Tarantino would then deliver with gusto exactly as they described — isn’t that the hipster pastiche he’s after?
From Los Angeles Times • Dec. 5, 2025
The building is a matte-black pyramid, fitted with 4,407 rooms and 65,000 square feet of gaming space, all flourished with pop-Egyptian pastiche.
From Slate • Nov. 18, 2025
The last of these quotations is a pastiche, but the other two are real, and all are typical of the inward-looking style that makes academic writing so tedious.
From "The Sense of Style" by Steven Pinker
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.
