silhouette
Americannoun
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silhouettes
plural
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a two-dimensional representation of the outline of an object, as a cutout or configurational drawing, uniformly filled in with black, especially a black-paper, miniature cutout of the outlines of a person's face in profile.
-
the outline or general shape of something.
the slim silhouette of a skyscraper.
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a dark image outlined against a lighter background.
verb (used with object)
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silhouettes,
present (3rd person singular)
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silhouetted,
past participle, past
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silhouetting
present participle
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to show in or as if in a silhouette.
-
Printing. to remove the background details from (a halftone cut) so as to produce an outline effect.
noun
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the outline of a solid figure as cast by its shadow
-
an outline drawing filled in with black, often a profile portrait cut out of black paper and mounted on a light ground
verb
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
Inflected Forms
Nouns
Participles
Conjugated Forms
Present
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silhouettesimple
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silhouettessimple
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have silhouettedperfect
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has silhouettedperfect
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am silhouettingprogressive
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are silhouettingprogressive
-
is silhouettingprogressive
-
have been silhouettingperfect progressive
-
has been silhouettingperfect progressive
Past
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silhouettedsimple
-
had silhouettedperfect
-
was silhouettingprogressive
-
were silhouettingprogressive
-
had been silhouettingperfect progressive
Future
Etymology
Origin of silhouette
First recorded in 1790–1800; from French à la silhouette, after Etienne de Silhouette (1709–67), French finance minister; the surname Silhouette is ultimately from Basque Zilhoeta, from zilo, zilho, zulo “hole” + -eta, toponymic suffix
Explanation
A silhouette is dark shadow, like a silhouette of a person standing under a street lamp, or a drawing that shows only the shape of an object. A silhouette, pronounced "sil-ooh-ET," can be mysterious. After all, you can only see the shape of the person or object. So, it's fitting that the word's origin is a little mysterious, too. It was coined for Etienne de Silhouette, a French finance minister. One theory is that Silhouette decorated his chateau with the kind of dark outline drawings that now bear his name.
Vocabulary lists containing silhouette
Long Way Down
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You Name It: Eponyms
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"The Great Gatsby," Chapter 1 Vocabulary
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Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
See Examples For:
He saw Bori’s flickering silhouette gripping the bars.
From Slate ● Aug. 11, 2026
Then, if I dive deeper into Japanese culture, I think about the most iconic silhouette, which for me is a kimono.
From BBC ● Jun. 29, 2026
Where the former implemented carefully considered, brief glimpses of its female lead to shade her character’s textures, “Obsession” stops caring about Nikki the moment her silhouette is completed.
From Salon ● Jun. 4, 2026
Guests who don’t want to use the technology can enter through a separate entrance marked with a silhouette of a head and shoulders with a slash through it.
From Los Angeles Times ● May 20, 2026
Bull said, looking for the first time into the interior of the car but looking through the front window at the silhouette propped against the door.
From "The Great Santini" by Pat Conroy
Likewise, Paris Fashion Week isn’t known to feature designers whose collections can be worn off the rack, instead showcasing works of great sartorial ambition, with severe silhouettes and playful flourishes alike.
From Salon ● Jun. 29, 2026
Those gains, she said, were seen across its bra silhouettes and price points.
From MarketWatch ● Jun. 2, 2026
The nostalgic tone of the collection was captured by some attendees who praised the juxtaposition of pieces, resulting in fluid, less cinched silhouettes reminiscent of 1940s Hollywood.
From Barron's ● May 14, 2026
Known for her personal style, which married the bold prints of the ’60s and ’70s with classic silhouettes, Doris would wear Gap clothes as she worked the register.
From The Wall Street Journal ● May 4, 2026
The girls’ silhouettes are like shadow statues in the gloom.
From "X: A Novel" by Ilyasah Shabazz
Its glacial flatness doesn’t lend itself to crusades, or to impressive scenes like a man on horseback silhouetted against the sunset.
From Salon ● Aug. 9, 2026
Behind them the water is a luminescent strip of blue, abutting a silhouetted skyline in which many of the buildings belch smoke; a few of the industrial structures spew fire.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 24, 2026
In our video call with Mr Explosive, he appears silhouetted and flanked by red and green light, the colours of the Iranian flag.
From BBC ● Apr. 11, 2026
Cinematographer Michael Bauman puts together a gorgeous, silhouetted shot of St. Carlos’ skateboarding scouts vaulting over rooftops in front of a building lit up to look like the American flag.
From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 24, 2025
I watched Mamou and Babou wave to us, silhouetted in the front door, until Dayi Jamsheed’s SUV turned the corner and they disappeared.
From "Darius the Great Is Not Okay" by Adib Khorram
“The glare and the sunlight was kind of silhouetting him, so I didn’t see his face,” the witness, Capt. Neda K. Othman of the U.S.
From New York Times ● Oct. 28, 2022
The photo captured Watkins’s image by silhouetting his head against an illuminated tree.
From Washington Post ● Mar. 12, 2015
You see it's enough to bring tears to the eyesby silhouetting trees,winter boughs spidery on mist-like white skiestwitched in a breeze.
From The Guardian ● Feb. 18, 2013
The crew boat returned to Tigre as the sun set, casting a golden glow over the lapping water, silhouetting the Parque de la Costa amusement park.
From New York Times ● Dec. 1, 2010
Tally gazed down at the familiar skyline, the slender trails of fireworks silhouetting the party towers and mansions.
From "Uglies" by Scott Westerfeld
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
