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sfumato

[ sfoo-mah-toh ]
/ sfuˈmɑ toʊ /
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noun Fine Arts.
the subtle and minute gradation of tone and color used to blur or veil the contours of a form in painting.
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Origin of sfumato

1840–50; <Italian, past participle of sfumare to gradate tone or color, equivalent to s-<Latin ex-ex-1 + fumare to smoke <Latin fumāre;see fume

Words nearby sfumato

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023

How to use sfumato in a sentence

British Dictionary definitions for sfumato

sfumato
/ (sfuːˈmɑːtəʊ) /

noun
(in painting) a gradual transition between areas of different colour, avoiding sharp outlines

Word Origin for sfumato

from Italian, from sfumato shaded off, from sfumare to shade off, from Latin ex- 1 + fūmāre to smoke
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
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