pictorial
Americanadjective
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pertaining to, expressed in, or of the nature of a picture.
-
illustrated by or containing pictures.
a pictorial history.
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of or relating to the art of painting and drawing pictures, the pictures themselves, or their makers.
the pictorial masterpieces of the Renaissance.
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having or suggesting the visual appeal or imagery of a picture.
a pictorial metaphor.
- Synonyms:
- telling, striking, vivid, picturesque
noun
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a periodical in which pictures constitute an important feature.
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a magazine feature that is primarily photographic.
adjective
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relating to, consisting of, or expressed by pictures
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(of books, newspapers, etc) containing pictures
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of or relating to painting or drawing
-
(of language, style, etc) suggesting a picture; vivid; graphic
noun
Other Word Forms
- nonpictorial adjective
- nonpictorially adverb
- pictorially adverb
- pictorialness noun
- semipictorial adjective
- semipictorially adverb
- unpictorial adjective
- unpictorially adverb
Etymology
Origin of pictorial
1640–50; < Latin pictōri ( us ) of painting ( pic- , variant stem of pingere to paint + -tōrius -tory 1 ) + -al 1
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 nearly 70-year retrospective of portrait drawings in pencil and paint by Los Angeles artist Don Bachardy revealed the works to be like performances: Both artist and sitter participated in putting on a pictorial show.
From Los Angeles Times
The stylistic choices result in a striking, distinctly pictorial aesthetic in line with earlier projects that Han and Vallade worked on, such as “Long Way North” and “Calamity,” both directed by Rémi Chayé.
From Los Angeles Times
The system then provides pictorial instructions to the humans on what to pick, where to place it and which truck to load.
In one of the earliest examples of his "pictorial" photography, Fading Away, Robinson combined five separate negatives to produce a scene showing a dying girl surrounded by her family.
From BBC
Bachardy’s self-portraits and drawings of Isherwood pepper the galleries, a confluence that reveals something that should be obvious: Two portrait artists, one pictorial and the other literary, resided for decades in the same household.
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.
