Definition

1. Noun:

   • A visual representation: An image created by drawing, painting, photography, or other visual media.
   • A mental image: A clear idea or impression formed in the mind.
   • A description in words: A vivid verbal account that creates a strong mental image.
   • A situation or set of circumstances: The overall state of affairs regarding a particular subject.
   • A film or movie: A story told through moving images; a motion picture.
   • A perfect example: A person or thing that perfectly represents a particular quality or state.

2. Verb:

   • To represent visually: To show someone or something in a picture, painting, or photograph.
   • To imagine: To form a mental image of something.

Usage and Examples

• Noun:

  • She painted a beautiful picture of the mountains. (A visual representation)
  • The book gives a grim picture of life during the war. (A description)
  • What's the current economic picture? (The overall situation)
  • We watched a picture at the cinema last night. (A film)
  • After his vacation, he was the picture of health. (A perfect example)

• Verb:

  • The artist pictured the village in the spring. (Represented visually)
  • Can you picture yourself living in another country? (Imagine)

Advanced Usage

• "To be/look the picture of...": To be a perfect example of a particular quality, often good health or happiness.
  • Despite the long journey, she was the picture of calm.
• "To put/keep someone in the picture": To give someone all the necessary information about a situation.
  • Before the meeting, the manager put us in the picture about the new client.
• "To be out of the picture": To no longer be involved in or relevant to a situation.
  • Now that the main investor is out of the picture, the project's future is uncertain.

Variants and Related Words

• Pictorial (adj): Relating to or consisting of pictures.
  • The book has excellent pictorial guides to the birds.
• Picturesque (adj): Visually attractive, especially in a quaint or charming way.
  • We stayed in a picturesque little village by the sea.

Synonyms

• Noun: Image, photograph, painting, depiction, scene, film, movie, representation.
• Verb: Depict, portray, represent, visualize, imagine, envision.

Related Phrasal Verbs / Constructions

• Picture something as...: To imagine or think of something in a particular way.
  • He always pictured his retirement as a time of travel.
• Picture someone doing something: To form a mental image of someone involved in an action.
  • I can't picture her working in an office.

Idioms

• A pretty picture: A pleasant or satisfactory situation (often used in the negative).
  • The financial report did not paint a pretty picture for the company.
• Get the picture: To understand the situation.
  • After his explanation, I finally got the picture.
• In the picture: Involved in or informed about a situation.
  • Is the new director in the picture about the budget issues?

Noun

1. a representation of a person or scene in the form of a print or transparent slide; recorded by a camera on light-sensitive material
2. a typical example of some state or quality
   • the very picture of a modern general
   • she was the picture of despair
3. a graphic or vivid verbal description
   • too often the narrative was interrupted by long word pictures
   • the author gives a depressing picture of life in Poland
   • the pamphlet contained brief characterizations of famous Vermonters
4. the visible part of a television transmission
   • they could still receive the sound but the picture was gone
5. a form of entertainment that enacts a story by sound and a sequence of images giving the illusion of continuous movement
   • they went to a movie every Saturday night
   • the film was shot on location
6. illustrations used to decorate or explain a text
   • the dictionary had many pictures
7. a situation treated as an observable object
   • the political picture is favorable
   • the religious scene in England has changed in the last century
8. a clear and telling mental image
   • he described his mental picture of his assailant
   • he had no clear picture of himself or his world
   • the events left a permanent impression in his mind
9. graphic art consisting of an artistic composition made by applying paints to a surface
   • a small painting by Picasso
   • he bought the painting as an investment
   • his pictures hang in the Louvre
10. a visual representation (of an object or scene or person or abstraction) produced on a surface
    • they showed us the pictures of their wedding
    • a movie is a series of images projected so rapidly that the eye integrates them

Verb

1. show in, or as in, a picture
   • This scene depicts country life
   • the face of the child is rendered with much tenderness in this painting
2. imagine; conceive of; see in one's mind
   • I can't see him on horseback!
   • I can see what will happen
   • I can see a risk in this strategy