semi-abstract

[ sem-ee-ab-strakt, -ab-strakt, sem-ahy- ]

adjective

1. pertaining to or designating a style of painting or sculpture in which the subject remains recognizable although the forms are highly stylized in a manner derived from abstract art.

Other Words From

• sem·i-ab·strac·tion [sem-ee-ab-, strak, -sh, uh, n, sem-ahy-], noun

Word History and Origins

Origin of semi-abstract¹

First recorded in 1940–45

Example Sentences

The novel is an epic, but “Behind the South,” while inspired by the book, is largely a mix of ritual theater and semi-abstract dance sections.

From New York Times

But that price was the same as the record $3.6 million given in March for the British artist Flora Yukhnovich’s 2020 semi-abstract canvas “Warm, Wet ’N’ Wild,” inspired by another 18th-century French painting.

From New York Times

It evokes Constantin Brancusi’s 1908 “The Kiss,” a semi-abstract depiction of a nearly identical man and woman embracing eyeball to eyeball.

From Seattle Times

One early painting, the semi-abstract “Salazar Vomiting the Homeland,” excoriated the dictatorship and would have been impossible to display at the time in Portugal.

From Seattle Times

She studied at the Slade School of Fine Art, University College London, and became well-known in Portugal thanks to her semi-abstract work that dealt with violent or political subjects.

From BBC