impressionistic
adjective
im·pres·sion·is·tic
| \ (ˌ)im-ˌpre-shə-ˈni-stik
\
\
Definition of impressionistic
1
or impressionist \ im-ˈpre-sh(ə-)nist
\
often capitalized
: of, relating to, or constituting impressionism
\
often capitalized
: of, relating to, or constituting impressionism
2
: based on or involving impression as distinct from expertise or fact
intuitions and impressionistic anecdotal accounts— Sidney Hook
Keep scrolling for more
Other Words from impressionistic
impressionistically
\ (ˌ)im-ˌpre-shə-ˈni-sti-k(ə-)lē
\
adverb
\
adverb
Examples of impressionistic in a Sentence
He wrote an impressionistic account of the battle scene.
Recent Examples on the Web
The evidence supports Smith’s impressionistic conclusions. — Walter Shapiro, The New Republic, "The Also-Rans Hoping for a New Hampshire Miracle," 9 Sep. 2019 Our memories of childhood are generally impressionistic, mostly consisting of vast blank periods of time marked by inexplicably vivid moments, as if the instant were suspended in formaldehyde and preserved far away from its chaotic natural habitat. — Marianne Szegedy-maszak, Washington Post, "Horrors of World War II, through children’s eyes," 16 Aug. 2019 WeWork’s plan for monetizing its memberships—comprising some 1.9 million workstations currently available or in the works—is somewhat impressionistic. — Jason Karaian, Quartz, "How WeWork spends its money," 14 Aug. 2019 Short, impressionistic chapters flit between the fictional town of Ventor, Georgia; boho New York City; San Francisco’s red-light district; the coast of Florida; and a grad-school program in Maryland. — Katy Waldman, The New Yorker, "“Valerie” Is an Extraordinary Love Letter to a Radical Feminist," 1 Aug. 2019 By my impressionistic reckoning, the most successful candidates Wednesday night were two senators who started the campaign with promise but have never—up until now—had their moment. — Walter Shapiro, The New Republic, "Miami Moonglow for Booker and Klobuchar," 27 June 2019 The Blurry Years unfolds almost as a collection of impressionistic scenes that capture nascent romance or summer tedium or ongoing crisis. — The Atlantic, "What We’re Reading This Summer," 28 June 2019 The former is a straightforward tale of love (of life, family, country) and loss (of everything); the latter is an impressionistic, experimental evocation of a past turned to rubble by both war and the grinding passage of time. — Ryu Spaeth, The New Republic, "Aleksandar Hemon’s Lost Eden," 6 June 2019 Seascapes, city streets, people, plant life and florals are presented through impressionistic lenses as well as several abstracts. — San Diego Union-Tribune, "RSF Art Guild exhibit ‘Shaped by Color’ to be presented in partnership with Lux Art Institute," 9 May 2019These example sentences are selected automatically from various online news sources to reflect current usage of the word 'impressionistic.' Views expressed in the examples do not represent the opinion of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
Keep scrolling for more
Keep scrolling for more
More Definitions for impressionistic
impressionistic
adjective
English Language Learners Definition of impressionistic
: involving general feelings or thoughts rather than specific knowledge or facts
chiefly US
: of or relating to impressionism
See the full definition for impressionistic in the English Language Learners Dictionary