Meaning & use
trompe l'oeil
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Meanings
noununcountable
A style of painting that makes a flat surface look solid or real, often with objects that seem to stick out.
Grammar: No plural and no article when talking about the technique: a master of trompe l'oeil.
Patterns
- a trompe l'oeil painting
- the art of trompe l'oeil
- in trompe l'oeil style
The ceiling was decorated in trompe l'oeil, so the clouds looked as if they were floating above the room.
She studied trompe l'oeil in Paris and now paints fake windows on bare walls.
nouncountable
A painting or image that uses this technique to trick the eye into seeing depth.
Grammar: Countable when it means one work: a trompe l'oeil, two trompe l'oeils.
Patterns
- a trompe l'oeil of something
- paint a trompe l'oeil
The museum owns a famous trompe l'oeil that makes a painted letter rack look three-dimensional.
He hung a trompe l'oeil above the fireplace, and guests kept trying to take the painted book off the shelf.
Word forms
| plural | trompe l'oeils |
|---|
Common combinations
- trompe l'oeil effect
- The trompe l'oeil effect is strongest when you stand directly in front of the canvas.
- trompe l'oeil painting
- A trompe l'oeil painting of a violin hung on the door.
- in trompe l'oeil
- The whole wall is done in trompe l'oeil.
- master of trompe l'oeil
- He is a master of trompe l'oeil and can make marble look soft.
Synonyms and how they differ
- illusionism
- A more technical term for art that aims to deceive the eye; trompe l'oeil is the everyday name for the same idea.
- optical illusion
- Any trick of the eye, not only a painting; use trompe l'oeil when you mean the painted technique.
Word family
- trompe l'oeil artist noun
- A painter who specializes in this technique.
Commonly confused: trompe l'oeil or trompe?
trompe l'oeil vs trompe
Not an English word on its own; it is part of the French phrase and should not be used alone.
Practice
The ceiling was painted in ______, so the sky seemed to open above the room.
Choose one answer.
The uncountable use takes no article: in trompe l'oeil. 'A trompe l'oeil' would need a countable singular meaning, and 'trompe l'oeils' is plural, which does not fit 'in ...' here.
Make it your own
Write a sentence using “trompe l'oeil”, then check it and compare it with the examples above.