texture
Americannoun
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the visual and especially tactile quality of a surface.
rough texture.
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the characteristic structure of the interwoven or intertwined threads, strands, or the like, that make up a textile fabric.
coarse texture.
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the characteristic physical structure given to a material, an object, etc., by the size, shape, arrangement, and proportions of its parts.
soil of a sandy texture; a cake with a heavy texture.
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an essential or characteristic quality; essence.
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Fine Arts.
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the characteristic visual and tactile quality of the surface of a work of art resulting from the way in which the materials are used.
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the imitation of the tactile quality of represented objects.
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the quality given, as to a musical or literary work, by the combination or interrelation of parts or elements.
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a rough or grainy surface quality.
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anything produced by weaving; woven fabric.
verb (used with object)
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to give texture or a particular texture to.
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to make by or as if by weaving.
noun
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the surface of a material, esp as perceived by the sense of touch
a wall with a rough texture
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the structure, appearance, and feel of a woven fabric
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the general structure and disposition of the constituent parts of something
the texture of a cake
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the distinctive character or quality of something
the texture of life in America
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the nature of a surface other than smooth
woollen cloth has plenty of texture
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art the representation of the nature of a surface
the painter caught the grainy texture of the sand
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music considered as the interrelationship between the horizontally presented aspects of melody and rhythm and the vertically represented aspect of harmony
a contrapuntal texture
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the nature and quality of the instrumentation of a passage, piece, etc
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verb
Other Word Forms
- nontextural adjective
- nontexturally adverb
- retexture verb (used with object)
- semitextural adjective
- semitexturally adverb
- textural adjective
- texturally adverb
- textureless adjective
- untextural adjective
Etymology
Origin of texture
1400–50; late Middle English < Latin textūra web, equivalent to text ( us ) (past participle of texere to weave) + -ūra -ure
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.
Suggestions for activities to introduce the concept of texture to young students can be found in Musical Textures Activities25 .
From Literature
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His skin was changing back to its usual deep brown, regaining color and texture.
From Literature
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If this is all that atoms have, then the qualities that we perceive in the world—colour, taste, smell, sound, texture, temperature—must be by-products of size, shape and movement.
From Literature
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Jet Stone Boy started to sing and pulled an arrowhead the same texture and color of his body out of a pouch that hung at his right hip.
From Literature
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A fiery outline of twilight shone around her silhouette, burned red-gold in her hair, grew diffuse in the fuzzy texture of the woolen skirt pulled carelessly about her knees.
From Literature
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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.