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silhouette

[ sil-oo-et ]
/ ˌsɪl uˈɛt /
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See synonyms for: silhouette / silhouetted on Thesaurus.com

noun
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.
the outline or general shape of something: the slim silhouette of a skyscraper.
a dark image outlined against a lighter background.
verb (used with object), sil·hou·et·ted, sil·hou·et·ting.
to show in or as if in a silhouette.
Printing. to remove the background details from (a halftone cut) so as to produce an outline effect.
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Origin of silhouette

1790–1800; <French à la silhouette, after Etienne de Silhouette (1709–67), French finance minister

OTHER WORDS FROM silhouette

un·sil·hou·et·ted, adjective
Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023

How to use silhouette in a sentence

British Dictionary definitions for silhouette

silhouette
/ (ˌsɪluːˈɛt) /

noun
the outline of a solid figure as cast by its shadow
an outline drawing filled in with black, often a profile portrait cut out of black paper and mounted on a light ground
verb
(tr) to cause to appear in silhouette

Word Origin for silhouette

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)
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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