Expressionism is a style of art, literature, and music which uses symbols and exaggeration to represent emotions, rather than representing physical reality.
expressionism in British English
(ɪkˈsprɛʃəˌnɪzəm)
noun
(sometimes capital)
an artistic and literary movement originating in Germany at the beginning of the 20th century, which sought to express emotions rather than to represent external reality: characterized by the use of symbolism and of exaggeration and distortion
Derived forms
expressionist (exˈpressionist)
noun, adjective
expressionistic (exˌpressionˈistic)
adjective
expressionism in American English
(ɛksˈprɛʃənˌɪzəm; ɪkˈsprɛʃənˌɪzəm)
noun
[oftenE-]
an early 20th-cent. movement in art, literature, and drama, characterized by distortion of reality and the use of symbols, stylization, etc.to give objective expression to inner experience