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View synonyms for silhouette

silhouette

[ sil-oo-et ]

noun

  1. a two-dimensional representation of the outline of an object, as a cutout or configurational drawing, uniformly filled in with black, especially a black-paper, miniature cutout of the outlines of a person's face in profile.
  2. the outline or general shape of something:

    the slim silhouette of a skyscraper.

  3. a dark image outlined against a lighter background.


verb (used with object)

, sil·hou·et·ted, sil·hou·et·ting.
  1. to show in or as if in a silhouette.
  2. Printing. to remove the background details from (a halftone cut) so as to produce an outline effect.

silhouette

/ ˌsɪluːˈɛt /

noun

  1. the outline of a solid figure as cast by its shadow
  2. an outline drawing filled in with black, often a profile portrait cut out of black paper and mounted on a light ground
“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


verb

  1. tr to cause to appear in silhouette
“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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Other Words From

  • unsil·hou·etted adjective
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Word History and Origins

Origin of silhouette1

First recorded in 1790–1800; from French à la silhouette, after Etienne de Silhouette (1709–67), French finance minister; the surname Silhouette is ultimately from Basque Zilhoeta, from zilo, zilho, zulo “hole” + -eta, toponymic suffix
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Word History and Origins

Origin of silhouette1

C18: named after Étienne de Silhouette (1709–67), French politician, perhaps referring to silhouettes as partial portraits, with a satirical allusion to Silhouette's brief career as controller general (1759)
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Example Sentences

However, there will in fact be a core assortment offered consisting of well-crafted basic silhouettes.

As I stepped back to admire the overall profile, the swoopy silhouette was a siren song luring me behind the wheel to fire up the engine.

Will Taylor, gear directorI test a lot of apparel, and sometimes in the blur of flashy new technologies and sleek silhouettes, it can be hard for pieces to stand out.

Relieved, I looked at Tanner to tell him about it—and saw the silhouette of a man next to him.

The silhouette of the Flip 5, Charge 5, and Xtreme 3 can be simply described as “log.”

The coat, with fitted bodice, nipped-in waist, and full skirt, created a familiar silhouette for Kate.

I would have added “no photographs of meditative politicians walking on the shore” with a slash though a silhouette of JFK.

As you walk in front of the first screen, your silhouette appears and birds swoop down toward you.

And I sat there as he shot the silhouette, but he had to stop because I started frantically crying.

She picks out Diane von Furstenberg dresses and starts really enjoying this new silhouette, this new freedom.

In the dimly-lighted doorway of a corner house the figure of a Chinaman showed as a motionless silhouette.

It was then easy enough to obtain a fairly accurate silhouette, by either outlining the profile or cutting it out from the screen.

He existed, moreover, only in contour; he never rose above harmoniously outlined silhouette.

Pete produced the silhouette of a young lady, and handed it round.

Looking in the same direction I saw, through the haze, the sharp outlines of a city in gray silhouette.

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