retouch

[ verb ree-tuhch; noun ree-tuhch, ree-tuhch ]

/ verb riˈtʌtʃ; noun ˈriˌtʌtʃ, riˈtʌtʃ /

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verb (used with object)

to improve with new touches, highlights, or the like; touch up or rework, as a painting or makeup.

Photography. to alter (a negative or positive) after development by adding or removing lines, lightening areas, etc., with a pencil, brush, or knife.

to dye, tint, or bleach (a new growth of hair) to match or blend with the color of an earlier and previously dyed growth.

noun

an added touch to a picture, painting, paint job, etc., by way of improvement or alteration.

an act or instance of dyeing new growth of hair to blend with previously dyed hair.

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Origin of retouch

1675–85; <Middle French retoucher, equivalent to re-re- + toucher to touch

OTHER WORDS FROM retouch

re·touch·a·ble, adjectivere·touch·er, nounun·re·touched, adjective

Words nearby retouch

retiring, retool, retorsion, retort, retortion, retouch, retox, retrace, retract, retractile, retraction

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2022

How to use retouch in a sentence

Should the coating crack at the knee or elbow joints, it is merely necessary to retouch it slightly at those places.
The Book of Anecdotes and Budget of Fun;|Various
Different publications and different retouch artists would handle a photograph differently, and add different retouching to them.
Warren Commission (7 of 26): Hearings Vol. VII (of 15)|The President's Commission on the Assassination of President Kennedy
That one should ever attempt to retouch the time-faded but beautiful pictures that the memory holds.
In New England Fields and Woods|Rowland E. Robinson
Occasional retouch, that appears to have been done by percussion flaking, is evident; but no regular pressure retouch is present.
Handbook of Alabama Archaeology: Part I Point Types|James W. Cambron

This retouch appears to have been accomplished with indirect percussion or pressure flaking.
Handbook of Alabama Archaeology: Part I Point Types|James W. Cambron

British Dictionary definitions for retouch

retouch

/ (riːˈtʌtʃ) /

verb (tr)

to restore, correct, or improve (a painting, make-up, etc) with new touches

photog to alter (a negative or print) by painting over blemishes or adding details

to make small finishing improvements to

archaeol to detach small flakes from (a stone) in order to make a tool

noun

the art or practice of retouching

a detail that is the result of retouching

a photograph, painting, etc, that has been retouched

archaeol fine percussion to shape flakes of stone into usable tools

Derived forms of retouch

retouchable, adjectiveretoucher, noun

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

retouch

Origin of retouch

OTHER WORDS FROM retouch

Words nearby retouch

Words related to retouch

How to use retouch in a sentence

British Dictionary definitions for retouch

Derived forms of retouch