silhouette
n. countablen. the dark shape of something seen against a light background. You can see the outline clearly, but you cannot see any details inside it.
n. the dark shape and outline of someone or something visible against a lighter background, especially in dim light. Refers to the two-dimensional representation of an object's exterior boundaries.
The trees were a black silhouette against the sunset.
As the sun dipped below the horizon, the silhouette of the mountain range became sharp and dramatic.
The photographer waited for the perfect moment when the subject's silhouette would be framed precisely within the archway, creating a stark contrast between the figure and the illuminated stone.
Borrowed from French silhouette, after Étienne de Silhouette (1709–1767), French Controller of Finances. De Silhouette's penny-pinching led to the French term à la Silhouette, applied to things perceived as cheap or austere, such as an outline filled only with black. Étienne de Silhouette's surname is, in turn, gallicized Basque. It derives from Ziloeta or Zilhoeta, modern Basque Zulueta, from the local plural (see -ak) stem of zulo (“hole, cave”).
Often used with the preposition 'against' to describe the background contrast.