- (often capital) a movement in French painting, developed in the 1870s chiefly by Monet, Renoir, Pissarro, and Sisley, having the aim of objectively recording experience by a system of fleeting impressions, esp of natural light effects
WordReference Random House Learner's Dictionary of American English © 2026
im•pres•sion•ism /ɪmˈprɛʃəˌnɪzəm/USA pronunciation
n. [uncountable]
WordReference Random House Unabridged Dictionary of American English © 2026- Fine Art[usually: Impressionism] a style of late 19th-century painting with short brush strokes of bright colors next to each other to represent the effect of light on objects.
- Literaturea style of literature or of musical composition that emphasizes mood and sensory impressions.
im•pres•sion•ism
(im presh′ə niz′əm),USA pronunciation n.
- Fine Art
- (usually cap.) a style of painting developed in the last third of the 19th century, characterized chiefly by short brush strokes of bright colors in immediate juxtaposition to represent the effect of light on objects.
- a manner of painting in which the forms, colors, or tones of an object are lightly and rapidly indicated.
- a manner of sculpture in which volumes are partially modeled and surfaces roughened to reflect light unevenly.
- Literaturea theory and practice in literature that emphasizes immediate aspects of objects or actions without attention to details.
- Music and Dancea late-19th-century and early-20th-century style of musical composition in which lush harmonies, subtle rhythms, and unusual tonal colors are used to evoke moods and impressions.
- 1880–85; impression + -ism; compare German Impressionismus, French impressionnisme
Collins Concise English Dictionary © HarperCollins Publishers::
impressionism /ɪmˈprɛʃəˌnɪzəm/ n
'Impressionism' also found in these entries (note: many are not synonyms or translations):