definitions
  • synonyms

pictorial

[ pik-tawr-ee-uhl, -tohr-ee-uhl ]
/ pɪkˈtɔr i əl, -ˈtoʊr i əl /
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SEE MORE SYNONYMS FOR pictorial ON THESAURUS.COM

adjective

pertaining to, expressed in, or of the nature of a picture.
illustrated by or containing pictures: a pictorial history.
of or relating to the art of painting and drawing pictures, the pictures themselves, or their makers: the pictorial masterpieces of the Renaissance.
having or suggesting the visual appeal or imagery of a picture: a pictorial metaphor.

noun

a periodical in which pictures constitute an important feature.
a magazine feature that is primarily photographic.

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RELATED WORDS

illustrated, visual, photographic, vivid, descriptive, drawn, illustrative, lifelike, outlined, painted, pictographic, picturesque, realistic, traced, delineated, depicted, diagrammatic, etched, iconographic, illustrational

Nearby words

pictograph, pictographic, pictography, pictor, pictores, pictorial, pictorialism, pictorialize, pictorially, picts, picturable

Origin of pictorial

1640–50; < Latin pictōri(us) of painting (pic-, variant stem of pingere to paint + -tōrius -tory1) + -al1
SYNONYMS FOR pictorial
4 picturesque, vivid, striking, telling.
SEE MORE SYNONYMS FOR pictorial ON THESAURUS.COM
Related forms
Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2019

Examples from the Web for pictorial

British Dictionary definitions for pictorial

pictorial

/ (pɪkˈtɔːrɪəl) /

adjective

relating to, consisting of, or expressed by pictures
(of books, newspapers, etc) containing pictures
of or relating to painting or drawing
(of language, style, etc) suggesting a picture; vivid; graphic

noun

  1. a magazine, newspaper, etc, containing many pictures
  2. (capital when part of a name)the Sunday Pictorial
Derived Formspictorially, adverb

Word Origin for pictorial

C17: from Late Latin pictōrius, from Latin pictor painter, from pingere to paint
Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Word Origin and History for pictorial

pictorial

adj.

1640s, from Latin pictorius "of a painter," from pictor "painter," from past participle stem of pingere "to make pictures" (see paint (v.)) + -al (1). The noun meaning "journal in which pictures are the main feature" is first recorded 1844. Related: Pictorially.

Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2010 Douglas Harper