silhouette
Americannoun
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silhouettes
plural
-
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)
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silhouettes,
present (3rd person singular)
-
silhouetted,
past participle, past
-
silhouetting
present participle
-
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.
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
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
Inflected Forms
Nouns
Participles
Conjugated Forms
Present
-
silhouettesimple
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silhouettessimple
-
have silhouettedperfect
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has silhouettedperfect
-
am silhouettingprogressive
-
are silhouettingprogressive
-
is silhouettingprogressive
-
have been silhouettingperfect progressive
-
has been silhouettingperfect progressive
Past
-
silhouettedsimple
-
had silhouettedperfect
-
was silhouettingprogressive
-
were silhouettingprogressive
-
had been silhouettingperfect progressive
Future
Etymology
Origin of silhouette
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
Explanation
A silhouette is dark shadow, like a silhouette of a person standing under a street lamp, or a drawing that shows only the shape of an object. A silhouette, pronounced "sil-ooh-ET," can be mysterious. After all, you can only see the shape of the person or object. So, it's fitting that the word's origin is a little mysterious, too. It was coined for Etienne de Silhouette, a French finance minister. One theory is that Silhouette decorated his chateau with the kind of dark outline drawings that now bear his name.
Vocabulary lists containing silhouette
Long Way Down
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You Name It: Eponyms
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"The Great Gatsby," Chapter 1 Vocabulary
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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.
See Examples For:
“I hear this woosh, and I look over my shoulder, and I see this massive, massive silhouette and the distinctive fin,” Slavich told KRON.
From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 28, 2026
Sure, for people with no health insurance, this is an enticing opportunity to effectively pay one month of coverage to get the silhouette of an annual physical, except without an actual doctor present.
From Slate ● Oct. 8, 2026
Baer was fascinated by the human silhouette, and his detailed darkroom notes show the lengths he went to achieve the effects of light and shadow.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 2, 2026
“I think there is more runway for the silhouette in the next year or two,” Goldstein said in emailed comments.
From MarketWatch ● Aug. 15, 2026
Ashmodai retreated to the window, a silhouette against the glass.
From "Night Owls" by A.R. Vishny
Nigerian models donned outfits of seemingly impossible amounts of fabric folded and moulded into massive silhouettes, or overlapping in shingled, feather-like patterns.
From Barron's ● Oct. 3, 2026
While Armani already used these luminous touches in his eveningwear, Silvana Armani has multiplied them to emphasise the fluidity and lightness of her silhouettes.
From Barron's ● Sep. 27, 2026
Kotsoni says the items to look out for are "draped garments, breezy materials and lots of bohemian and flowy silhouettes".
From BBC ● Sep. 21, 2026
The wool textures and shapes made the silhouettes.
From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 16, 2026
Two young men in plain brown kaftans were running across the lawns and toward them with purpose, their silhouettes blurred against the blood-orange glow of the roaring fire at their back.
From "Beasts of Prey" by Ayana Gray
One stunning shot follows the group from behind as they are silhouetted by the setting sun whose fading rays show off the clouds’ contours.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 28, 2026
The DJ was silhouetted by a large window display of a gigantic, human-sized plastic re-creation of Raising Cane’s chicken tenders and crinkle-cut fries being dipped into a tub of Cane’s Sauce.
From Slate ● Aug. 24, 2026
Its glacial flatness doesn’t lend itself to crusades, or to impressive scenes like a man on horseback silhouetted against the sunset.
From Salon ● Aug. 9, 2026
So it’ll be, like, 5 or 6 o’clock in the morning, and it’s dark, but the palm trees are silhouetted in the sky.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jun. 12, 2026
He looked at the square head, silhouetted against the flickering neon lights.
From "The Contender" by Robert Lipsyte
Occasionally he would lean forward, silhouetting himself entirely but for some unruly wisps of gray hair, which glowed like a nimbus.
From New York Times ● Dec. 15, 2020
The photo captured Watkins’s image by silhouetting his head against an illuminated tree.
From Washington Post ● Mar. 12, 2015
You see it's enough to bring tears to the eyesby silhouetting trees,winter boughs spidery on mist-like white skiestwitched in a breeze.
From The Guardian ● Feb. 18, 2013
The crew boat returned to Tigre as the sun set, casting a golden glow over the lapping water, silhouetting the Parque de la Costa amusement park.
From New York Times ● Dec. 1, 2010
Tally gazed down at the familiar skyline, the slender trails of fireworks silhouetting the party towers and mansions.
From "Uglies" by Scott Westerfeld
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Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
