silhouette
silhouette Lexical Profile
silhouette Game Scores & Validity
• noun
The dark shape and outline of someone or something visible against a lighter background, especially in dim light.
"The dark silhouette of the ancient castle stood out sharply against thecrimson sunset."
The overall outer shape, cut, or contour created by a garment when worn on the body.
"The fashion designer's autumn collection featured coats with a structured, hourglass silhouette."
A portrait or picture showing the outline of a subject, typically in profile, cut from black paper or filled in with a solid dark color against a light background.
"Eighteenth-century parlors were often decorated with framed paper silhouettes of family members."
• verb
To cast or show someone or something as a dark shape and outline against a lighter background (usually used in the passive).
"A lone pine tree was silhouetted against the bright full moon on the ridge."
• Rhymes for silhouette
Word Origin & Etymology
Named after Étienne de Silhouette (1709–1767), a French Controller-General of Finances under Louis XV whose strict fiscal austerity and inexpensive hobby of cutting paper shadow portraits made his surname synonymous with anything done cheaply or reduced to a bare outline.