war paint
Americannoun
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paint applied by American Indians to their faces and bodies before going to war.
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Informal. makeup; cosmetics.
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Informal. full dress; regalia.
noun
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painted decoration of the face and body applied by certain North American Indians before battle
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informal finery or regalia
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informal cosmetics
Etymology
Origin of war paint
An Americanism dating back to 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.
Mostly clad in black and many with war paint on their faces, the mourners belonged to the tribal Kuki group, who are mostly Christian.
From BBC ● Jul. 12, 2023
“I’ve always thought of it as war paint for Blackbraid anyway. It’s so perfectly intertwined in the black metal aesthetic already.”
From New York Times ● Jul. 5, 2023
Protests have followed the Chiefs on two Super Bowl trips, and last fall they barred headdresses and war paint for fans at Arrowhead Stadium.
From Seattle Times ● Jul. 12, 2021
They blog, they have a brand, they wrap themselves in henna or war paint at festivals even though they rarely engage in a physical war, if they ever engage at all.
From Salon ● Feb. 8, 2020
Karl stood with his face to the charred building, soot striping it like war paint.
From "Hattie Big Sky" by Kirby Larson
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.
