silhouette

CEFRC2

/ˌsɪ.lʊˈwɛt/

noun

Türkçe translations

Translating…

In plain English

  1. 01

    noun

    A dark outline of a person or object against a lighter background.

  2. 02

    noun

    Extra detail

    The outline of a garment as it appears on the wearer.

Examples

  • A silhouette of a girl appeared on the curtain.

  • I like the silhouette these clothes give me.

At a glance

Sits at C2 on the CEFR scale

Senses
4
Parts of speech
1
Citations
3

Also pronounced

  • /ˌsɪ.luːˈwɛt/

Deep Dive

noun

Extra meanings

  1. To represent by a silhouette; to project upon a background, so as to be like a silhouette.

  2. An illustrated outline filled in with a solid color(s), usually only black, and intended to represent the shape of an object without revealing any other visual details; a similar appearance produced when the object being viewed is situated in relative darkness with brighter lighting behind it; a profile portrait in black, such as a shadow appears to be.

More examples

In context

  • A-line is a classic silhouette for dresses and skirts.

  • I could see a silhouette of a figure looking out from the window, but I couldn't tell if it was a man or a woman.

  • At Stirling, we obtained a wonderful silhouette view of the Wallace Monument, and the dark line of the Ochil Hills, and the castle stood out clearly against the afterglow of the sunset.

Quick test

Two questions on this entry. Nothing is scored.

Question 1 · Quick check

Against the bright sunset, the tree's blank was clearly visible on the horizon.

Practise this properly in the app, where the word comes back before you forget it.

Nearby

Origin

noun

Borrowed from French silhouette, after Étienne de Silhouette (1709–1767), French Controller of Finances. De Silhouette's penny-pinching led to the French term à la Silhouette, applied to things perceived as cheap or austere, such as an outline filled only with black. Étienne de Silhouette's surname is, in turn, gallicized Basque. It derives from Ziloeta or Zilhoeta, modern Basque Zulueta, from the local plural (see -ak) stem of zulo (“hole, cave”).