Meaning & use

still life

noun·Academic

A painting or drawing of an arrangement of inanimate objects, such as fruit or flowers.

See it in a sentence

The gallery displayed a still life of pears and a ceramic jug.

She practiced painting with a simple still life of bottles on a table.

A note on using this word

'Still life' is written as two words, taking a hyphen only when used as a compound adjective, as in 'a still-life painting.'

Words with a similar meaning

This term is best learned through its definition and examples.

Choose a synonym to suit the sentence. Meanings can overlap without being identical.

Make it your own

Write a sentence using “still life”, then compare your use with the examples above.

Your draft stays on this page and is not sent anywhere.