tableau
Americannoun
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a picture, as of a scene.
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a picturesque grouping of persons or objects; a striking scene.
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a representation of a picture, statue, scene, etc., by one or more persons suitably costumed and posed.
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Solitaire. the portion of a layout to which one may add cards according to suit or denomination.
noun
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See tableau vivant
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a pause during or at the end of a scene on stage when all the performers briefly freeze in position
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any dramatic group or scene
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logic short for semantic tableau
Etymology
Origin of tableau
First recorded in 1690–1700; from French: “board, picture,” Middle French tablel, diminutive of table table
Explanation
A tableau is a dramatic picture. If you catch a glance into the Oval Office and see top advisers speaking to each other with intensity, you behold a dramatic political tableau. Tableau comes from the old French for "picture, or painted target." We usually use tableau to describe a vivid living scene. If you are a journalist and want to describe the tension in a courtroom, you might write a verbal tableau of the judge, the jury, and the witness box. People used to entertain themselves by doing tableau vivant, or living pictures, by reenacting perfectly the frozen scene of a famous painting.
Vocabulary lists containing tableau
The Diary of Anne Frank
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Quiz yourself on these words spoken by the man at the center of the "Laurel" / "Yanny" craze!
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The Handmaid's Tale
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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.
You can feel it in the way Emily looks out her father’s window to the lake beyond, the wintery tableau both tranquil and poignant.
From Los Angeles Times • Dec. 24, 2025
But as the company grew, marketing its locations as a tableau in which to “stay awhile” ultimately meant there was a finite number of people they could sell coffee to per day.
From Slate • Dec. 22, 2025
It can all seem so flawless in that golden moment before the guests arrive, though the presence of actual people quickly complicates any Thanksgiving tableau.
From The Wall Street Journal • Nov. 21, 2025
It is seen here on film and also in a large tableau, its mysterious backdrop animated by Rodeo FX.
From The Wall Street Journal • Nov. 1, 2025
Thankfully, a Bean Heaven employee with long blond dreadlocks inserts himself into our awkward little tableau with a big plate of scones, jam, and thick cream.
From "A Place at the Table" by Saadia Faruqi and Laura Shovan
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
