still life

American  

noun

plural

still lifes

1. a representation chiefly of inanimate objects, as a painting of a bowl of fruit.

2. the category of subject matter in which inanimate objects are represented, as in painting or photography.

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still life British  

noun

1. 1. a painting or drawing of inanimate objects, such as fruit, flowers, etc

   2. ( as modifier )

      a still-life painting

2. the genre of such paintings

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Other Word Forms

• still-life adjective

Etymology

Origin of still life

First recorded in 1635–45

Example Sentences

Broadly painted still lifes from the 1930s, with apples and pears transformed into flat, declarative shapes, have the physical presence of “The Lace Shawl,” with a very different mood and affect.

From The Wall Street Journal

He pulls long shifts of guard duty in the city center and still lives with his family in a working class Damascus suburb.

From The Wall Street Journal

I don’t consider Klee—sui generis—to be a Surrealist, but “Fish Magic,” merging aquarium, children’s art, still life, cosmos and landscape, is the quintessential portrait of a dream.

From The Wall Street Journal

He was referred to the South Yorkshire youth homelessness charity Roundabout, which assigned him a flat - in which he still lives - and gave him access to a counselling service.

From BBC

Six months on, Ms Hopkins said her son - a keen rugby player - has "dealt with it absolutely amazingly" but still lives with physical injuries like nerve damage.

From BBC