trompe
Americannoun
noun
Etymology
Origin of trompe
Borrowed into English from French around 1820–30
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.
Artists and couturiers are fond of the whimsy of trompe l’oeil, the trick of the eye, the illusion of reality.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jun. 20, 2026
Along one wall, a 19th-century trompe l’oeil screen dramatizes the classical gentlemanly taste that dominated among Neo-Confucian elites.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jun. 6, 2026
“Labyrinth” is fortified with trompe l’oeil wonders, but none are as powerful as a dream sequence resulting from Sarah lapsing into a hallucination after she bites into an enchanted peach.
From Salon ● Jan. 24, 2026
Our eyes continue to be dazzled by optical tricks, such as trompe l’oeil patterns that collapse dimensions.
From Seattle Times ● Mar. 19, 2024
Giotto’s art, which included using trompe I’oeil to create the illusion of non-existent columns, was, it is suggested, the result of a dialogue with his employers.
From "The Invention of Science" by David Wootton
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.
