Library / English Dictionary

PICTURE

Pronunciation (US):

(GB):

 I. (noun) 

Sense 1

Meaning:

Graphic art consisting of an artistic composition made by applying paints to a surface

Example:

his pictures hang in the Louvre

Synonyms:

painting; picture

Classified under:

Nouns denoting man-made objects

Hypernyms ("picture" is a kind of...):

graphic art (the arts of drawing or painting or printmaking)

Hyponyms (each of the following is a kind of "picture"):

water-color; water-colour; watercolor; watercolour (a painting produced with watercolors)

trompe l'oeil (a painting rendered in such great detail as to deceive the viewer concerning its reality)

tanka (a Tibetan religious painting on fabric)

still life (a painting of inanimate objects such as fruit or flowers)

semi-abstraction (a semiabstract painting)

seascape; waterscape (a painting of the sea (as distinguished from a landscape))

sand painting (a painting done by Amerindians (especially Navaho); made of fine colored sands on a neutral background)

pentimento (the reappearance in a painting of an underlying image that had been painted over (usually when the later painting becomes transparent with age))

oil painting (a picture painted with oil paints)

nude; nude painting (a painting of a naked human figure)

abstraction (an abstract painting)

cityscape (painting depicting a city or urban area)

daub (an unskillful painting)

distemper (a painting created with paint that is made by mixing the pigments with water and a binder)

finger-painting (a painting produced by spreading paint with the fingers)

icon; ikon (a conventional religious painting in oil on a small wooden panel; venerated in the Eastern Church)

landscape (painting depicting an expanse of natural scenery)

illumination; miniature (painting or drawing included in a book (especially in illuminated medieval manuscripts))

monochrome (painting done in a range of tones of a single color)

mural; wall painting (a painting that is applied to a wall surface)

Derivation:

depict (make a portrait of)

pictural (pertaining to or consisting of pictures)

picture (show in, or as in, a picture)

Sense 2

Meaning:

A representation of a person or scene in the form of a print or transparent slide or in digital format

Synonyms:

exposure; photo; photograph; pic; picture

Classified under:

Nouns denoting man-made objects

Hypernyms ("picture" is a kind of...):

representation (a creation that is a visual or tangible rendering of someone or something)

Hyponyms (each of the following is a kind of "picture"):

photocopy (a photographic copy of written or printed or graphic work)

stock image; stock photograph (an exisitng photograph licensed for a specific use)

photographic print; print (a printed picture produced from a photographic negative)

photomicrograph (a photograph taken with the help of a microscope)

radiogram; radiograph; shadowgraph; skiagram; skiagraph (a photographic image produced on a radiosensitive surface by radiation other than visible light (especially by X-rays or gamma rays))

shot; snap; snapshot (an informal photograph; usually made with a small hand-held camera)

spectrogram; spectrograph (a photographic record of a spectrum)

stereo; stereoscopic photograph; stereoscopic picture (two photographs taken from slightly different angles that appear three-dimensional when viewed together)

still (a static photograph (especially one taken from a movie and used for advertising purposes))

telephoto; telephotograph (a photograph made with a telephoto lens)

telephotograph (a photograph transmitted and reproduced over a distance)

time exposure (a photograph produced with a relatively long exposure time)

vignette (a photograph whose edges shade off gradually)

wedding picture (photographs of bride and groom and their friends taken at their wedding)

scene; shot (a consecutive series of pictures that constitutes a unit of action in a film)

beefcake (a photograph of a muscular man in minimal attire)

black and white; monochrome (a black-and-white photograph or slide)

blueprint (photographic print of plans or technical drawings etc.)

cheesecake (a photograph of an attractive woman in minimal attire)

closeup (a photograph taken at close range)

daguerreotype (a photograph made by an early photographic process; the image was produced on a silver plate sensitized to iodine and developed in mercury vapor)

blowup; enlargement; magnification (a photographic print that has been enlarged)

frame (a single one of a series of still transparent pictures forming a cinema, television or video film)

glossy (a photograph that is printed on smooth shiny paper)

headshot (a photograph of a person's head)

hologram; holograph (the intermediate photograph (or photographic record) that contains information for reproducing a three-dimensional image by holography)

longshot (a photograph taken from a distance)

microdot (photograph reduced to the size of a dot (usually for purposes of security))

arial mosaic; mosaic; photomosaic (arrangement of aerial photographs forming a composite picture)

mug shot; mugshot (a photograph of someone's face (especially one made for police records))

Sense 3

Meaning:

A visual representation (of an object or scene or person or abstraction) produced on a surface

Example:

a movie is a series of images projected so rapidly that the eye integrates them

Synonyms:

icon; ikon; image; picture

Classified under:

Nouns denoting man-made objects

Hypernyms ("picture" is a kind of...):

representation (a creation that is a visual or tangible rendering of someone or something)

Hyponyms (each of the following is a kind of "picture"):

echogram; sonogram (an image of a structure that is produced by ultrasonography (reflections of high-frequency sound waves); used to observe fetal growth or to study bodily organs)

CAT scan; scan (an image produced by scanning)

reflection; reflexion (the image of something as reflected by a mirror (or other reflective material))

cyclorama; diorama; panorama (a picture (or series of pictures) representing a continuous scene)

likeness; semblance (picture consisting of a graphic image of a person or thing)

inset (a small picture inserted within the bounds or a larger one)

iconography (the images and symbolic representations that are traditionally associated with a person or a subject)

computer graphic; graphic (an image that is generated by a computer)

foil; transparency (picture consisting of a positive photograph or drawing on a transparent base; viewed with a projector)

collage; montage (a paste-up made by sticking together pieces of paper or photographs to form an artistic image)

chiaroscuro (a monochrome picture made by using several different shades of the same color)

bitmap; electronic image (an image represented as a two dimensional array of brightness values for pixels)

Derivation:

depict (show in, or as in, a picture)

pictural (pertaining to or consisting of pictures)

picture (show in, or as in, a picture)

Sense 4

Meaning:

A typical example of some state or quality

Example:

she was the picture of despair

Classified under:

Nouns denoting cognitive processes and contents

Hypernyms ("picture" is a kind of...):

exemplification; typification (a representational or typifying form or model)

Sense 5

Meaning:

A clear and telling mental image

Example:

the events left a permanent impression in his mind

Synonyms:

impression; mental picture; picture

Classified under:

Nouns denoting cognitive processes and contents

Hypernyms ("picture" is a kind of...):

image; mental image (an iconic mental representation)

Derivation:

picture (imagine; conceive of; see in one's mind)

Sense 6

Meaning:

The visible part of a television transmission

Example:

they could still receive the sound but the picture was gone

Synonyms:

picture; video

Classified under:

Nouns denoting communicative processes and contents

Hypernyms ("picture" is a kind of...):

visual communication (communication that relies on vision)

Holonyms ("picture" is a part of...):

telecasting; television; TV; video (broadcasting visual images of stationary or moving objects)

Sense 7

Meaning:

A form of entertainment that enacts a story by sound and a sequence of images giving the illusion of continuous movement

Example:

the film was shot on location

Synonyms:

film; flick; motion-picture show; motion picture; movie; moving-picture show; moving picture; pic; picture; picture show

Classified under:

Nouns denoting communicative processes and contents

Hypernyms ("picture" is a kind of...):

product; production (an artifact that has been created by someone or some process)

show (a social event involving a public performance or entertainment)

Meronyms (parts of "picture"):

episode; sequence (film consisting of a succession of related shots that develop a given subject in a movie)

credit (an entry on a list of persons who contributed to a film or written work)

caption; subtitle (translation of foreign dialogue of a movie or TV program; usually displayed at the bottom of the screen)

credits (a list of acknowledgements of those who contributed to the creation of a film (usually run at the end of the film))

scene; shot (a consecutive series of pictures that constitutes a unit of action in a film)

Domain member category:

dub (provide (movies) with a soundtrack of a foreign language)

synchronise; synchronize (make (motion picture sound) exactly simultaneous with the action)

film; shoot; take (make a film or photograph of something)

tape; videotape (record on videotape)

reshoot (shoot again)

Hyponyms (each of the following is a kind of "picture"):

musical; musical comedy; musical theater (a play or film whose action and dialogue is interspersed with singing and dancing)

3-D; 3D; three-D (a movie with images having three dimensional form or appearance)

talkie; talking picture (a movie with synchronized speech and singing)

slow motion (a movie that apparently takes place at a slower than normal speed; achieved by taking the film at a faster rate)

silent movie; silent picture; silents (a movie without a soundtrack)

rough cut (the first print of a movie after preliminary editing)

skin flick (a pornographic movie)

film noir (a movie that is marked by a mood of pessimism, fatalism, menace, and cynical characters)

cinema verite (a movie that shows ordinary people in actual activities without being controlled by a director)

docudrama; documentary; documentary film; infotainment (a film or TV program presenting the facts about a person or event)

short subject (a brief film; often shown prior to showing the feature)

shoot-'em-up (a movie featuring shooting and violence)

coming attraction (a movie that is advertised to draw customers)

collage film (a movie that juxtaposes different kinds of footage)

home movie (a film made at home by an amateur photographer)

final cut (the final edited version of a movie as approved by the director and producer)

feature; feature film (the principal (full-length) film in a program at a movie theater)

telefilm (a movie that is made to be shown on television)

Sense 8

Meaning:

Illustrations used to decorate or explain a text

Example:

the dictionary had many pictures

Synonyms:

pictorial matter; picture

Classified under:

Nouns denoting communicative processes and contents

Hypernyms ("picture" is a kind of...):

illustration (artwork that helps make something clear or attractive)

Derivation:

picture (show in, or as in, a picture)

pictural (pertaining to or consisting of pictures)

depict (show in, or as in, a picture)

Sense 9

Meaning:

A graphic or vivid verbal description

Example:

the pamphlet contained brief characterizations of famous Vermonters

Synonyms:

characterisation; characterization; delineation; depiction; picture; word-painting; word picture

Classified under:

Nouns denoting communicative processes and contents

Hypernyms ("picture" is a kind of...):

description; verbal description (a statement that represents something in words)

Hyponyms (each of the following is a kind of "picture"):

epithet (descriptive word or phrase)

portrait; portraiture; portrayal (a word picture of a person's appearance and character)

Derivation:

depict (give a description of)

Sense 10

Meaning:

A situation treated as an observable object

Example:

the religious scene in England has changed in the last century

Synonyms:

picture; scene

Classified under:

Nouns denoting stable states of affairs

Hypernyms ("picture" is a kind of...):

situation; state of affairs (the general state of things; the combination of circumstances at a given time)

 II. (verb) 

Sense 1

Meaning:

Imagine; conceive of; see in one's mind

Example:

I can see a risk in this strategy

Synonyms:

envision; fancy; figure; image; picture; project; see; visualise; visualize

Classified under:

Verbs of sewing, baking, painting, performing

Hypernyms (to "picture" is one way to...):

conceive of; envisage; ideate; imagine (form a mental image of something that is not present or that is not the case)

Verb group:

realise; realize; see; understand (perceive (an idea or situation) mentally)

visualise; visualize (form a mental picture of something that is invisible or abstract)

Sentence frames:

Somebody ----s something
Somebody ----s that CLAUSE

Derivation:

picture (a clear and telling mental image)

picturing (visual imagery)

Sense 2

Meaning:

Show in, or as in, a picture

Example:

the face of the child is rendered with much tenderness in this painting

Synonyms:

depict; picture; render; show

Classified under:

Verbs of sewing, baking, painting, performing

Hypernyms (to "picture" is one way to...):

interpret; represent (create an image or likeness of)

Domain category:

art; artistic creation; artistic production (the creation of beautiful or significant things)

Troponyms (each of the following is one way to "picture"):

illustrate (depict with an illustration)

map (depict as if on a map)

Sentence frame:

Somebody ----s something

Derivation:

picture (graphic art consisting of an artistic composition made by applying paints to a surface)

picture (a visual representation (of an object or scene or person or abstraction) produced on a surface)

picture (illustrations used to decorate or explain a text)

picturing (visual representation as by photography or painting)

Credits

 Context examples: 

Lord! what a boat it is! taking a last look at the picture, as they began to be in motion.

(Persuasion, by Jane Austen)

Swift as thought the pictures came and went.

(Martin Eden, by Jack London)

The pictures are created by a computer linked to an x-ray machine.

(CAT scan, NCI Dictionary)

The pictures are sent to a small recorder that is worn on the patient’s waist or shoulder.

(Capsule endoscope, NCI Dictionary)

Cancer cells take up more carbon-11 choline than normal cells, so the pictures can be used to find cancer cells in the body.

(carbon-11 choline PET-CT scan, NCI Dictionary)

Silver's face was a picture; his eyes started in his head with wrath.

(Treasure Island, by Robert Louis Stevenson)

Sitka Charley looked at me in swift surprise, then back at the picture.

(Love of Life and Other Stories, by Jack London)

You can see a single hair with your eyes, and you can even take a picture of one with a smartphone.

(Smartphone microscope detects nanoparticles and viruses, NIH)

Your picture may be very exact, Louisa, said Bingley; but this was all lost upon me.

(Pride and Prejudice, by Jane Austen)

But I thought, also, of my mother and sisters, and pictured their grief.

(The Sea-Wolf, by Jack London)