silhouette

1 of 2

noun

sil·hou·ette ˌsi-lə-ˈwet How to pronounce silhouette (audio)

: a likeness cut from dark material and mounted on a light ground or one sketched in outline and solidly colored in

: the outline of a body viewed as circumscribing a mass

the silhouette of a bird

silhouette

2 of 2

verb

silhouetted; silhouetting

transitive verb

: to represent by a silhouette

also : to project on a background like a silhouette

silhouettist

ˌsi-lə-ˈwe-tist How to pronounce silhouette (audio)

noun

Did you know?

Before the age of the photograph, the silhouette, either cut from paper or painted, was the most affordable portrait that could be made. The art enjoyed a golden age in the second half of the 18th and first half of the 19th centuries, when many people collected them. Although silhouettes were well-loved, the man for whom they were named was not: Étienne de Silhouette was France's finance minister under Louis XV and was notorious for both his frugality and his hobby of making cut-paper shadow portraits. The phrase à la Silhouette came to mean "on the cheap," and portraits like the ones he produced were (satirically) bestowed with his name as well.

Example Sentences

Noun the silhouettes of buildings against the sky The buildings appeared in silhouette against the sky. My piano teacher has a framed silhouette of Mozart on her wall. a portrait of my mother done in silhouette He admired the sports car's sleek silhouette. Verb in the photograph the majestic mountain is strikingly silhouetted against the setting sun See More

Recent Examples on the Web

Noun

The eatery’s logo is a silhouette of a portion of Main Street.

Susan Dunne, Hartford Courant, 16 Sep. 2022 The foreboding silhouette of bare branches and ravens in flight turn bright green in the dead of night due to their special design.

Zee Krstic, Good Housekeeping, 16 Sep. 2022 Since 1967, all postage stamps produced by the Royal Mail have featured an embossed silhouette of the side profile of Queen Elizabeth II.

Alexander Smith, NBC News, 9 Sep. 2022 The poster shows the silhouette of a man walking down a street — a street that’s definitely not in Phoenix.

Bill Goodykoontz, The Arizona Republic, 9 Sep. 2022 These pastel pieces fuse the empire silhouette of the babydoll dress with the bullfighter’s richly bullioned bolero and crop pant, volume coming from origami folds of fabric.

Laura Jacobs, WSJ, 7 Sep. 2022 The poster, which dropped on Wednesday, features a silhouette of a character strutting down a cobblestone street, while a large sign indicating Stage 25 looms above.

Etan Vlessing, The Hollywood Reporter, 7 Sep. 2022 No tennis brand would be complete without a polo shirt and Ashe has several that, in place of Lacoste’s crocodile or Fred Perry’s wreath, are emblazoned with a silhouette of the player serving his signature backhand.

Kareem Rashed, Robb Report, 26 Aug. 2022 He was taken with the idea that the Tham Luang caves were in a mountain range named after Princess Nang Non, and that the silhouette of the mountains looked like a sleeping woman.

Jon Burlingame, Variety, 8 Aug. 2022

Verb

The ankles of the Weekender Pants are also elasticized and tapered to master the classic sweatpants silhouette.

Emily Belfiore, Travel + Leisure, 14 May 2022 Gvasalia started with many of Balenciaga’s iconic pieces on his mood board and reconsidered them either through material or slight changes to silhouette.

Steff Yotka, Vogue, 8 July 2021 People are silhouetted in a window of an apartment building in Hollywood, where a stay-at-home order remains in effect to help curb the spread of the coronavirus.

Los Angeles Times, 27 Apr. 2020 Amalia is constantly calling out to the family’s late Tia Carmen (musician Maria Sandoval-Moreno), who stands silhouetted in a second-floor window wearing a death mask and plucking a violin.

Manuel Mendoza, Dallas News, 26 Mar. 2020 The outlines of the pillars appear to be very delicate, as they are silhouetted against an eerie blue haze in deep space.

Fox News, 8 Apr. 2020 The duck crossed a slight rise, 40 yards away, silhouetted for a quick moment like a mule deer making a break over a ridgeline.

T. Edward Nickens, Field & Stream, 10 Mar. 2020 The first segment depicts the climbers checking their equipment by headlamp before the camera pans to the rising sun silhouetting the ridge line ahead.

Niha Masih, Washington Post, 9 July 2019 The trees are dark, almost silhouetted, and set off against bright skies that occasionally look juice-filled—red or lemon-colored.

Zachary Fine, The New York Review of Books, 8 Feb. 2020 See More

Kids Definition

silhouette 1 of 2

noun

sil·hou·ette ˌsi-lə-ˈwet How to pronounce silhouette (audio)

: outline entry 1 sense 1

In the dim light, their faces were just silhouettes.

: a drawing, picture, or portrait of the outline of a person or object filled in with a solid usually black color

silhouette

2 of 2

verb

silhouetted; silhouetting

: to represent by an outline : show against a light background

An airplane was silhouetted against the sky.

silhouette 1 of 2

noun

as in outline

a line that traces the outer limits of an object or surface cartoonists often try to give their characters recognizable silhouettes

Synonyms & Similar Words

Relevance

outline
contour
shape
figure
sketch
geometry
skyline
skeleton
profile
form
framework
configuration
cast
delineation
conformation

silhouette

2 of 2

verb

as in to trace

to draw or make apparent the outline of in the photograph the majestic mountain is strikingly silhouetted against the setting sun

Synonyms & Similar Words

trace
outline
sketch
circle
define
line
trim
round
frame
skirt
surround
delineate
edge
margin
fringe
rim
bound
hem
loop
ring
chart
girth
diagram
draw
girdle
map (out)
encircle
compass

Synonym Chooser

Some common synonyms of silhouette are contour, outline, and profile. While all these words mean "the line that bounds and gives form to something," silhouette suggests a shape especially of a head or figure with all detail blacked out in shadow leaving only the outline clearly defined.

photograph in silhouette against a bright sky

While in some cases nearly identical to silhouette, contour stresses the quality of an outline or a bounding surface as being smooth, jagged, curving, or sharply angled.

a car with flowing contours

In some situations, the words outline and silhouette are roughly equivalent. However, outline applies to a line marking the outer limits or edges of a body or mass.

traced the outline of his hand

The meanings of profile and silhouette largely overlap; however, profile suggests a varied and sharply defined outline against a lighter background.

a portrait of her face in profile

单词	silhouette
释义	silhouette 1 of 2 noun sil·hou·ette ˌsi-lə-ˈwet 1 : a likeness cut from dark material and mounted on a light ground or one sketched in outline and solidly colored in 2 : the outline of a body viewed as circumscribing a mass the silhouette of a bird silhouette 2 of 2 verb silhouetted; silhouetting transitive verb : to represent by a silhouette also : to project on a background like a silhouette silhouettist ˌsi-lə-ˈwe-tist noun Did you know? Before the age of the photograph, the silhouette, either cut from paper or painted, was the most affordable portrait that could be made. The art enjoyed a golden age in the second half of the 18th and first half of the 19th centuries, when many people collected them. Although silhouettes were well-loved, the man for whom they were named was not: Étienne de Silhouette was France's finance minister under Louis XV and was notorious for both his frugality and his hobby of making cut-paper shadow portraits. The phrase à la Silhouette came to mean "on the cheap," and portraits like the ones he produced were (satirically) bestowed with his name as well. Synonyms Noun contour figure outline Verb define delineate outline sketch trace See all Synonyms & Antonyms Example Sentences Noun the silhouettes of buildings against the sky The buildings appeared in silhouette against the sky. My piano teacher has a framed silhouette of Mozart on her wall. a portrait of my mother done in silhouette He admired the sports car's sleek silhouette. Verb in the photograph the majestic mountain is strikingly silhouetted against the setting sun See More Recent Examples on the Web Noun The eatery’s logo is a silhouette of a portion of Main Street. Susan Dunne, Hartford Courant, 16 Sep. 2022 The foreboding silhouette of bare branches and ravens in flight turn bright green in the dead of night due to their special design. Zee Krstic, Good Housekeeping, 16 Sep. 2022 Since 1967, all postage stamps produced by the Royal Mail have featured an embossed silhouette of the side profile of Queen Elizabeth II. Alexander Smith, NBC News, 9 Sep. 2022 The poster shows the silhouette of a man walking down a street — a street that’s definitely not in Phoenix. Bill Goodykoontz, The Arizona Republic, 9 Sep. 2022 These pastel pieces fuse the empire silhouette of the babydoll dress with the bullfighter’s richly bullioned bolero and crop pant, volume coming from origami folds of fabric. Laura Jacobs, WSJ, 7 Sep. 2022 The poster, which dropped on Wednesday, features a silhouette of a character strutting down a cobblestone street, while a large sign indicating Stage 25 looms above. Etan Vlessing, The Hollywood Reporter, 7 Sep. 2022 No tennis brand would be complete without a polo shirt and Ashe has several that, in place of Lacoste’s crocodile or Fred Perry’s wreath, are emblazoned with a silhouette of the player serving his signature backhand. Kareem Rashed, Robb Report, 26 Aug. 2022 He was taken with the idea that the Tham Luang caves were in a mountain range named after Princess Nang Non, and that the silhouette of the mountains looked like a sleeping woman. Jon Burlingame, Variety, 8 Aug. 2022 Verb The ankles of the Weekender Pants are also elasticized and tapered to master the classic sweatpants silhouette. Emily Belfiore, Travel + Leisure, 14 May 2022 Gvasalia started with many of Balenciaga’s iconic pieces on his mood board and reconsidered them either through material or slight changes to silhouette. Steff Yotka, Vogue, 8 July 2021 People are silhouetted in a window of an apartment building in Hollywood, where a stay-at-home order remains in effect to help curb the spread of the coronavirus. Los Angeles Times, 27 Apr. 2020 Amalia is constantly calling out to the family’s late Tia Carmen (musician Maria Sandoval-Moreno), who stands silhouetted in a second-floor window wearing a death mask and plucking a violin. Manuel Mendoza, Dallas News, 26 Mar. 2020 The outlines of the pillars appear to be very delicate, as they are silhouetted against an eerie blue haze in deep space. Fox News, 8 Apr. 2020 The duck crossed a slight rise, 40 yards away, silhouetted for a quick moment like a mule deer making a break over a ridgeline. T. Edward Nickens, Field & Stream, 10 Mar. 2020 The first segment depicts the climbers checking their equipment by headlamp before the camera pans to the rising sun silhouetting the ridge line ahead. Niha Masih, Washington Post, 9 July 2019 The trees are dark, almost silhouetted, and set off against bright skies that occasionally look juice-filled—red or lemon-colored. Zachary Fine, The New York Review of Books, 8 Feb. 2020 See More Word History Etymology Noun French, from Étienne de Silhouette †1767 French controller general of finances; perhaps from his ephemeral tenure First Known Use Noun 1783, in the meaning defined at sense 1 Verb 1876, in the meaning defined above Kids Definition silhouette 1 of 2 noun sil·hou·ette ˌsi-lə-ˈwet 1 : outline entry 1 sense 1 In the dim light, their faces were just silhouettes. 2 : a drawing, picture, or portrait of the outline of a person or object filled in with a solid usually black color silhouette 2 of 2 verb silhouetted; silhouetting : to represent by an outline : show against a light background An airplane was silhouetted against the sky. silhouette 1 of 2 noun as in outline a line that traces the outer limits of an object or surface cartoonists often try to give their characters recognizable silhouettes Synonyms & Similar Words Relevance outline contour shape figure sketch geometry skyline skeleton profile form framework configuration cast delineation conformation silhouette 2 of 2 verb as in to trace to draw or make apparent the outline of in the photograph the majestic mountain is strikingly silhouetted against the setting sun Synonyms & Similar Words trace outline sketch circle define line trim round frame skirt surround delineate edge margin fringe rim bound hem loop ring chart girth diagram draw girdle map (out) encircle compass Synonym Chooser Some common synonyms of silhouette are contour, outline, and profile. While all these words mean "the line that bounds and gives form to something," silhouette suggests a shape especially of a head or figure with all detail blacked out in shadow leaving only the outline clearly defined. photograph in silhouette against a bright sky While in some cases nearly identical to silhouette, contour stresses the quality of an outline or a bounding surface as being smooth, jagged, curving, or sharply angled. a car with flowing contours In some situations, the words outline and silhouette are roughly equivalent. However, outline applies to a line marking the outer limits or edges of a body or mass. traced the outline of his hand The meanings of profile and silhouette largely overlap; however, profile suggests a varied and sharply defined outline against a lighter background. a portrait of her face in profile
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silhouette

noun

verb

Did you know?

Synonyms

Example Sentences

Word History

Kids Definition

noun

verb

noun

verb

Synonym Chooser