tableau

CEFRB2

/ˈtæ.bləʊ/

noun

Türkçe translations

Translating…

In plain English

  1. 01

    noun

    A scene or group arranged like a picture.

  2. 02

    noun

    Extra detail

    A vivid graphic scene of a group of people or objects arranged as in a painting or bas relief sculpture.

Examples

  • A tableau is a group of models or motionless figures representing a scene.

  • The actors created a beautiful and silent tableau on the stage.

At a glance

Sits at B2 on the CEFR scale

Senses
5
Parts of speech
1
Citations
5
Synonyms
1

Also pronounced

  • /tæˈbloʊ/

Deep Dive

noun

Extra meanings

  1. An arrangement of actors in static positions on stage, having the effect of pointing up a particular moment in the drama, conventionally revealed by opening tableau curtains (known as "tabs").

  2. A striking and vivid representation or scene; a picture.

  3. A two-dimensional array or table of data, usually numbers, of various specific kinds.

More examples

In context

  • The actors posed in a silent tableau to end the play.

  • Folding chairs had been placed at prudent distances, and masks were dutifully worn. An Australian Labradoodle belonging to the home’s owners strutted among the guests. Despite the breezy suburban tableau, the occasion was fraught.

  • Stefania Chlouveraki, the project leader, stands at a long sorting table. She turns the colored fragments over and over in her fingertips. She fits each one into its place: a magnificent tableau of lions, crosses, pomegranate trees.

Synonyms

Quick test

Two questions on this entry. Nothing is scored.

Question 1 · Quick check

At the end of the play, the actors formed a beautiful blank to represent peace.

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

Nearby

Origin

noun

Unadapted borrowing from French tableau, from Old French tablel (“a surface which is used primarily for painting”).