adj, noun ·Uncommon ·Advanced level

Definitions

Noun

1. 1
   An artistic technique developed during the Renaissance, referring to the use of strong contrasts between light and dark in order to create the illusion of volume. countable, uncountable
2. 2
   a monochrome picture made by using several different shades of the same color wordnet
3. 3
   A monochrome picture made by using several different shades of the same color. countable, uncountable
4. 4
   A woodcut technique in which several woodcut blocks are used to print different shades of a color, or a woodcut print made by this technique. countable, uncountable
5. 5
   A photographic technique in which one side of the subject, for example a face, is well lit and the other is in shadow. countable, uncountable

Adjective

1. 1
   Possessing the qualities of a work of chiaroscuro. figuratively

   "It has been a very chiaroscuro day—lots of sunlight and shadow."

Synonyms

All synonyms

black and whitecartooncharcoalcontrastcrayondelineation

Example

More examples

"I really like the technique called chiaroscuro."

Etymology

Mid-17th century, borrowed from Italian chiaroscuro, from chiaro (“clear, bright”) + oscuro (“dark, obscure”).

Data sourced from Wiktionary, WordNet, CMU, and other open linguistic databases. Updated March 2026.