Definition

1. Noun:
   • A graphic or vivid verbal description: "Word-painting" refers to the use of language to create a detailed, vivid, and often artistic picture in the listener's or reader's mind. It is a descriptive technique that appeals to the senses.

Examples of Usage

• Noun:
  • The novelist's word-painting of the coastal village made me feel I was actually there.
  • Too often the narrative was interrupted by long word-paintings.
  • Her speech was not just an argument but a brilliant piece of word-painting.

Advanced Usage

• As a literary/rhetorical device: "Word-painting" is often analyzed as a technique in literature and oratory where description transcends simple facts to evoke imagery and emotion.
  • The poet's word-painting transforms a simple garden into a mystical landscape.

Variants and Related Words

• Word picture (n): A synonym for "word-painting," meaning a vivid verbal description.
  • He drew a word picture of the event so clear we could all visualize it.
• Description (n): A general term for a spoken or written account of something.
• Depiction (n): The act of portraying something through words or art.
• Characterization (n): A description of the distinctive nature or features of someone or something.
  • The pamphlet contained brief characterizations of famous Vermonters.

Synonyms

• Vivid description
• Verbal portrait
• Graphic account
• Depiction

Related Phrases

• To paint a picture with words: An idiomatic phrase synonymous with creating a "word-painting."
  • The travel writer paints a picture with words of the bustling market.

Related Idioms

• A picture is worth a thousand words: This idiom contrasts with "word-painting," suggesting visual imagery is more powerful, whereas "word-painting" aims to achieve similar power through text alone.

Noun

1. 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