ENGLISH
REFERENCE

picturesque

adj.
B2 Upper Intermediate US //ˈpɪktʃɝəsk// UK //pˌɪktʃəɹˈɛsk// pic·turesque

adj. looking like a beautiful scene from a painting or a photograph. You use this to describe places that are pretty in an old-fashioned or natural way.

adj. visually attractive in a charming or quaint manner, especially in a way that suggests a painting. Often refers to landscapes, villages, or historical architecture.


SIMPLE

The village has many picturesque little houses.

CONTEXTUAL

We spent the afternoon walking through the picturesque streets of the old town, stopping to take photos of the colorful buildings.

COMPLEX

Nestled between the jagged peaks of the Alps and the crystal-clear waters of the lake, the town offers a picturesque view that has inspired poets for centuries.

Origin

From picture + -esque, a calque of French pittoresque, from picture (“a picture, painting”).

Usage

Typically used attributively before a noun or predicatively after a linking verb like 'be', 'look', or 'seem'.

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