tableau

[ ta-bloh, tab-loh ]

/ tæˈbloʊ, ˈtæb loʊ /

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See synonyms for tableau on Thesaurus.com

noun, plural tab·leaux

[ta-blohz, tab-lohz], /tæˈbloʊz, ˈtæb loʊz/, tab·leaus.

a picture, as of a scene.

a picturesque grouping of persons or objects; a striking scene.

a representation of a picture, statue, scene, etc., by one or more persons suitably costumed and posed.

Solitaire. the portion of a layout to which one may add cards according to suit or denomination.

QUIZ

SHALL WE PLAY A "SHALL" VS. "SHOULD" CHALLENGE?

Should you take this quiz on “shall” versus “should”? It should prove to be a quick challenge!

Question 1 of 6

Which form is used to state an obligation or duty someone has?

shall

should

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Origin of tableau

1690–1700; <French: board, picture, Middle French tablel, diminutive of tabletable

Words nearby tableau

tabinet, tabla, Tablas, tablature, table, tableau, tableau curtain, tableau vivant, Table Bay, table board, tablecloth

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2022

How to use tableau in a sentence

The tiny tableaus chronicling the boys’ flight fittingly range from extraordinarily realistic to fantastical, alternately portraying the vastness and claustrophobic aspects of their ordeal.
‘Flight,’ an astonishing tale told using diorama and figures|Patrick Folliard|January 12, 2022|Washington Blade
John Doyle’s Assassins, now playing off-Broadway at the Classic Stage Company, has his assassins form their final tableau in front of footage from the January 6 Capitol riot.
Why the new West Side Story works — and one thing that doesn’t|Constance Grady|December 10, 2021|Vox
I assume I will sell my work until people stop buying it, both out of necessity and because it does bring me joy to make a silly little thing that someone will incorporate into the tableau of their home.
The complicated reality of doing what you love|Marian Bull|August 25, 2021|Vox
Most of the movie’s tableaus—like the one featuring the distracted waiter—are one-offs.
Roy Andersson's Quietly Gorgeous About Endlessness Explores Questions for Which There Are No Answers|Stephanie Zacharek|April 29, 2021|Time

Raya and the Last Dragon offers a tableau of cultural references inspired by the whole of Southeast Asia.
Raya and the Last Dragon Introduces Disney’s First Southeast Asian Princess. Advocates Say Hollywood Representation Shouldn’t Stop There|Kat Moon|March 6, 2021|Time
A first-rank boulevardier in the 1960s tableau, his wives included one Rita Hayworth.
Inside North America’s First Islamic Art Museum|Shinan Govani|September 16, 2014|DAILY BEAST
Now those are destroyed, too, and the animals are strewn about, bloating and stinking, as if in a tableau of “Guernica.”
Inside the Gaza Schoolyard Massacre|Jesse Rosenfeld|July 26, 2014|DAILY BEAST
The tableau of five candidates on stage at first seemed more like a set of high school stereotypes than a political debate.
Iowa GOP Senate Debate Shows Divides|Ben Jacobs|April 25, 2014|DAILY BEAST
The next minute they are frozen in an eerie, extended tableau vivant——a still-life that's not actually still.
‘A Field in England’ Is a Psychedelic Cinematic Trip|Andrew Romano|February 9, 2014|DAILY BEAST
Everybody else was screaming; the noise was overwhelming, the tableau so terrifying that my brain locked up.
Don’t Shoot! Why Being a Hero Is Not That Easy|Dan Baum|March 12, 2013|DAILY BEAST
The Tableau des Saints is a still more severe criticism of the heroes of Christendom.
Baron d'Holbach|Max Pearson Cushing
Her interruption of the tableau sounded oddly abrupt to ears used to her pleasant accents.
At Last|Marion Harland
The curtain fell on a tableau: the Holidays, with their flags and banners, old Father Time, and the happy children.
The Story of the Big Front Door|Mary Finley Leonard
Let me enjoy the beauty of the tableau, no matter how it is produced.
Pharaoh's Broker|Ellsworth Douglass
The tableau answered for itself before the words had left his lips.
The Escape of a Princess Pat|George Pearson

British Dictionary definitions for tableau

tableau

/ (ˈtæbləʊ) /

noun plural -leaux (-ləʊ, -ləʊz) or -leaus

See tableau vivant

a pause during or at the end of a scene on stage when all the performers briefly freeze in position

any dramatic group or scene

logic short for semantic tableau

Word Origin for tableau

C17: from French, from Old French tablel a picture, diminutive of table

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

tableau

Origin of tableau

Words nearby tableau

Words related to tableau

How to use tableau in a sentence

British Dictionary definitions for tableau

Word Origin for tableau