vignette

[vin-yet]

noun

1. a decorative design or small illustration used on the title page of a book or at the beginning or end of a chapter.

2. an engraving, drawing, photograph, or the like that is shaded off gradually at the edges so as to leave no definite line at the border.

3. a decorative design representing branches, leaves, grapes, or the like, as in a manuscript.

4. any small, pleasing picture or view.

5. a small, graceful literary sketch.

verb (used with object)

vignetted, vignetting 

1. Photography.,  to finish (a picture, photograph, etc.) in the manner of a vignette.

vignette

/ vɪˈnjɛt /

noun

1. a small illustration placed at the beginning or end of a book or chapter

2. a short graceful literary essay or sketch

3. a photograph, drawing, etc, with edges that are shaded off

4. architect a carved ornamentation that has a design based upon tendrils, leaves, etc

5. any small endearing scene, view, picture, etc

verb

1. to finish (a photograph, picture, etc) with a fading border in the form of a vignette

2. 1. to decorate with vignettes

   2. to portray in or as in a vignette

Other Word Forms

• vignettist noun

Word History and Origins

Origin of vignette¹

1745–55; < French: literally, little vine ( vine, -ette ); so called from vinelike decorations in early books

Word History and Origins

Origin of vignette¹

C18: from French, literally: little vine, from vigne _vine ; with reference to the vine motif frequently used in embellishments to a text

Example Sentences

Guests of this Coffin Creek attraction were carted along from one breached containment scenario to the next, with roving monsters periodically surprising them in the darkness between the scantily lighted vignettes.

Read more on Los Angeles Times

This vignette, despite the mishap, ends more happily than the others, but the evening still leaves a sour aftertaste.

Read more on The Wall Street Journal

Among the vignettes arrayed across the background plane are a ship at full sail, another docked and being unloaded, a lighthouse and a sacrifice.

Read more on The Wall Street Journal

It sounds like a joke setup, but there was nothing funny about this near-terminal event for our longstanding friendship—this vignette of being a Jewish New Yorker in 2025.

Read more on The Wall Street Journal

But there’s a sadness running through all three vignettes.

Read more on The Wall Street Journal

Related Words

• scenario 
• scene 
• sketch 

When To Use

What does vignette mean?

A vignette is a small illustration or design, especially one that appears on a book’s title page or between chapters.This primary meaning of vignette has been extended in several ways, such as to refer to other small illustrations or images done in a similar style, or to brief scenes from literature or other works. Vignette can also be used as a verb, meaning to create such a thing or to do something in the style of a vignette.Example: I love these old books that have lovely vignettes at the beginning of each chapter.