Expressionism

UK: /ɪkˈsprɛʃənɪz^əm/

US: /ɪkˈsprɛʃəˌnɪzəm/

US: (ik spresh′ə niz′əm)

WordReference Random House Unabridged Dictionary of American English © 2025

Ex•pres•sion•ism  (ik spresh′ə niz′əm), n. 

[Fine Arts.] (usually l.c.) a manner of painting, drawing, sculpting, etc., in which forms derived from nature are distorted or exaggerated and colors are intensified for emotive or expressive purposes. a style of art developed in the 20th century, characterized chiefly by heavy, often black lines that define forms, sharply contrasting, often vivid colors, and subjective or symbolic treatment of thematic material. German, Ex•pres•si•o•nis•mus (eks pres′ē ō nis′mŏŏs). modern art, esp. the experimental or nonacademic styles of contemporary art.
1. Literature (often l.c.) [Theat.] a style of playwriting and stage presentation stressing the emotional content of a play, the subjective reactions of the characters, symbolic or abstract representations of reality, and nonnaturalistic techniques of scenic design.
2. Literature Literature. a technique of distorting objects and events in order to represent them as they are perceived by a character in a literary work.
3. Music and Dance (usu. l.c.) a phase in the development of early 20th-century music marked by the use of atonality and complex, unconventional rhythm, melody, and form, intended to express the composer's psychological and emotional life.

• German Expressionismus See expression, -ism
• 1905–10

Ex•pres′sion•ist, n., adj. 
Ex•pres′sion•is′tic, adj. 
Ex•pres′sion•is′ti•cal•ly, adv. 

WordReference Random House Learner's Dictionary of American English © 2025

ex•pres•sion•ism /ɪkˈsprɛʃəˌnɪzəm/   n. [often: Expressionism]

1. Fine Art a style of art in which forms depict the personal view of the artist.

ex•pres•sion•ist, n. [countable] , adj. 
ex•pres•sion•is•tic, adj. 

Collins Concise English Dictionary © HarperCollins Publishers::

expressionism / ɪkˈsprɛʃəˌnɪzəm/ noun

1. (sometimes capital) an artistic and literary movement originating in Germany at the beginning of the 20th century, which sought to express emotions rather than to represent external reality: characterized by the use of symbolism and of exaggeration and distortion

exˈpressionist noun , adjective

exˌpressionˈistic adjective