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.
“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
As a viewer marches down the nave toward the high altar, the apostles also come into view, on a trompe l’oeil ledge.
From The Wall Street Journal • Jan. 9, 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
One Street Grandma piece, inspired by a vintage Champion tee from the 1970s, features a trompe l’oeil image of blue overalls over a capacious, heavyweight, white cotton tee.
From Los Angeles Times • Sep. 13, 2023
Most of my mother’s paintings were trompe l’œils—à la Magritte, as she liked to say—in which the subject, person or thing, always seemed to be trying to escape the frame.
From "Krik? Krak!" by Edwidge Danticat
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.
