Standard Lemma guide

painting

noun · verb · 8 senses · updated from the 2026-07-25 local source snapshot

Definitions and examples are grouped by meaning. Pronunciation, history, word forms, translations, descendants, synonyms, antonyms, derived terms, and related words appear whenever the source provides them.

Sound

Pronunciation

Each Play button uses your device's default local English voice, or a natural local fallback. The selected voice name appears after playback. This is synthesized speech, not a source recording.

  • /ˈpeɪn.tɪŋ/
  • US: /ˈpeɪ.nɪŋ/ in fast speech
  • US: Recorded audio is listed in the source snapshot.
  • UK: Recorded audio is listed in the source snapshot.
  • rhymes with -eɪntɪŋ
  • CMU ARPABET: P EY1 N T IH0 NG Digits mark lexical stress: 1 primary, 2 secondary, 0 unstressed.

1

noun

Meaning 1

An illustration or artwork done with the use of paint.

Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract

Usage: countable

Examples

  • The Mona Lisa is one of the most famous paintings.

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: none provided

Antonyms: none provided

2

noun

Meaning 2

The action of applying paint to a surface.

Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract

Usage: uncountable

Examples

  • The outside of the old house would benefit from some painting.

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: none provided

Antonyms: none provided

3

noun

Meaning 3

The same activity as an art form.

Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract

Usage: uncountable

Examples

  • Some artists, like Michelangelo, excel in both painting and sculpture.

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: none provided

Antonyms: none provided

4

verb

Meaning 4

present participle and gerund of paint

Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract

Usage: form-of, gerund, participle, present

No example sentence was provided for this meaning.

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: none provided

Antonyms: none provided

5

noun

Meaning 5

the occupation of a house painter

Definition source: Princeton WordNet 3.0

Examples

  • house painting was the only craft he knew

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: house painting

Antonyms: none provided

Broader terms: trade, craft

6

noun

Meaning 6

the act of applying paint to a surface

Definition source: Princeton WordNet 3.0

Examples

  • you can finish the job of painting faster with a roller than with a brush

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: none provided

Antonyms: none provided

Broader terms: application, coating, covering

Narrower terms: spray painting, spatter, spattering, splash, splashing, splattering, finger-painting

7

noun

Meaning 7

creating a picture with paints

Definition source: Princeton WordNet 3.0

Examples

  • he studied painting and sculpture for many years

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: none provided

Antonyms: none provided

Broader terms: art, artistic creation, artistic production, fine arts, beaux arts

Narrower terms: distemper, fresco, impasto, oil painting, watercolor, water-color, watercolour, water-colour

8

noun

Meaning 8

graphic art consisting of an artistic composition made by applying paints to a surface

Definition source: Princeton WordNet 3.0

Examples

  • a small painting by Picasso
  • he bought the painting as an investment
  • his pictures hang in the Louvre

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: picture

Antonyms: none provided

Broader terms: graphic art

Narrower terms: abstraction, cityscape, daub, distemper, finger-painting, icon, ikon, landscape, miniature, illumination, monochrome, mural, wall painting, nude, nude painting, oil painting, pentimento, sand painting, seascape, waterscape, semi-abstraction, still life, tanka, trompe l'oeil, watercolor, water-color, watercolour, water-colour

History

Etymology

By surface analysis, paint + -ing.

Across languages

Translations

179 source translations are retained for this English entry.

  • Afrikaans: skildery — an illustration or artwork using paint
  • Albanian: piktura — an illustration or artwork using paint
  • Arabic: لَوْحَة (lawḥa) — an illustration or artwork using paint
  • Arabic: صُورَة (ṣūra) — an illustration or artwork using paint
  • Arabic: لَوْحَة فَنِّيَّة (lawḥa fanniyya) — an illustration or artwork using paint
  • Arabic: لوحة (lōḥa) — an illustration or artwork using paint
  • Arabic: رسمة (rasma) — an illustration or artwork using paint
  • Armenian: գեղանկարչություն (geġankarčʻutʻyun) — an illustration or artwork using paint
  • Breton: livadur — an illustration or artwork using paint
  • Bulgarian: картина (kartina) — an illustration or artwork using paint
  • Catalan: quadre — an illustration or artwork using paint
  • Catalan: pintura — an illustration or artwork using paint
  • Chinese Mandarin: 圖畫 /图画 (túhuà) — an illustration or artwork using paint
  • Chinese Mandarin: 畫幅 /画幅 (huàfú) — an illustration or artwork using paint
  • Chinese Mandarin: 畫兒 /画儿 (huàr) — an illustration or artwork using paint
  • Czech: obraz — an illustration or artwork using paint
  • Danish: maleri — an illustration or artwork using paint
  • Dutch: schilderij — an illustration or artwork using paint
  • Dutch: schilderwerk — an illustration or artwork using paint
  • Esperanto: pentraĵo — an illustration or artwork using paint
  • Estonian: maal — an illustration or artwork using paint
  • Finnish: maalaus — an illustration or artwork using paint
  • French: peinture — an illustration or artwork using paint
  • French: toile — an illustration or artwork using paint
  • Galician: cadro — an illustration or artwork using paint
  • Galician: pintura — an illustration or artwork using paint
  • Georgian: ნახატი (naxaṭi) — an illustration or artwork using paint
  • Georgian: სურათი (surati) — an illustration or artwork using paint
  • German: Gemälde — an illustration or artwork using paint
  • Greek: ζωγραφιά (zografiá) — an illustration or artwork using paint
  • Ancient Greek: ζωγραφία (zōgraphía) — an illustration or artwork using paint
  • Ancient Greek: ζωγράφημα (zōgráphēma) — an illustration or artwork using paint
  • Hindi: चित्र (citra) — an illustration or artwork using paint
  • Hungarian: festmény — an illustration or artwork using paint
  • Icelandic: málverk — an illustration or artwork using paint
  • Ido: pikturo — an illustration or artwork using paint
  • Indonesian: lukisan — an illustration or artwork using paint
  • Irish: pictiúr — an illustration or artwork using paint
  • Irish: péintéireacht — an illustration or artwork using paint
  • Italian: dipinto — an illustration or artwork using paint
  • Italian: pittura — an illustration or artwork using paint
  • Italian: quadro — an illustration or artwork using paint
  • Japanese: 絵画 (kaiga) — an illustration or artwork using paint
  • Japanese: 絵 (e) — an illustration or artwork using paint
  • Khmer: គំនូរ (kumnuu) — an illustration or artwork using paint
  • Central Kurdish: وێنە (wêne) — an illustration or artwork using paint
  • Latin: pictūra — an illustration or artwork using paint
  • Latvian: glezna — an illustration or artwork using paint
  • Lithuanian: tapybos kūrinys — an illustration or artwork using paint
  • Lithuanian: tapyba — an illustration or artwork using paint
  • Macedonian: слика (slika) — an illustration or artwork using paint
  • Maltese: kwadru — an illustration or artwork using paint
  • Māori: peitatanga — an illustration or artwork using paint
  • Māori: waituhi — an illustration or artwork using paint
  • Middle English: peynture — an illustration or artwork using paint
  • Navajo: naʼashchʼąąʼ — an illustration or artwork using paint
  • Norwegian Bokmål: maleri — an illustration or artwork using paint
  • Norwegian Bokmål: bilde — an illustration or artwork using paint
  • Norwegian Nynorsk: måleri — an illustration or artwork using paint
  • Occitan: pintura — an illustration or artwork using paint
  • Old English: tīefring — an illustration or artwork using paint
  • Pannonian Rusyn: малюнок (maljunok) — an illustration or artwork using paint
  • Pashto: انځور (anźor) — an illustration or artwork using paint
  • Persian: نگار (negâr) — an illustration or artwork using paint
  • Persian: نقاشی (naqqâši) — an illustration or artwork using paint
  • Polish: obraz — an illustration or artwork using paint
  • Polish: malowidło — an illustration or artwork using paint
  • Portuguese: pintura — an illustration or artwork using paint
  • Romanian: pictură — an illustration or artwork using paint
  • Russian: карти́на (kartína) — an illustration or artwork using paint
  • Scottish Gaelic: lì-dhealbh — an illustration or artwork using paint
  • Serbo-Croatian: слика — an illustration or artwork using paint
  • Serbo-Croatian: slika — an illustration or artwork using paint
  • Slovak: obraz — an illustration or artwork using paint
  • Lower Sorbian: wobraz — an illustration or artwork using paint
  • Southern Altai: билдӱр (bildür) — an illustration or artwork using paint
  • Spanish: cuadro — an illustration or artwork using paint
  • Spanish: pintura — an illustration or artwork using paint
  • Swedish: målning — an illustration or artwork using paint
  • Tamil: ஓவியம் (ōviyam) — an illustration or artwork using paint
  • Thai: จิตรกรรม (jìt-dtrà-gam) — an illustration or artwork using paint
  • Turkish: boyama — an illustration or artwork using paint
  • Turkish: resim — an illustration or artwork using paint
  • Ottoman Turkish: نقش (nakş) — an illustration or artwork using paint
  • Ukrainian: карти́на (kartýna) — an illustration or artwork using paint
  • Uyghur: رەسىم (resim) — an illustration or artwork using paint
  • Vietnamese: bức tranh — an illustration or artwork using paint
  • Vietnamese: bức vẽ — an illustration or artwork using paint
  • Volapük: pänot — an illustration or artwork using paint
  • Welsh: peintiad — an illustration or artwork using paint
  • Arabic: طِلَاء (ṭilāʔ) — the action of applying paint
  • Arabic: دِهَان (dihān) — the action of applying paint
  • Bulgarian: живопис (živopis) — the action of applying paint
  • Chechen: басар (basar) — the action of applying paint
  • Chinese Mandarin: 繪畫 /绘画 (huìhuà) — the action of applying paint
  • Chinese Mandarin: 油漆 (yóuqī) — the action of applying paint
  • Danish: malerkunst — the action of applying paint
  • Dutch: schilderen — the action of applying paint
  • Dutch: geschilder — the action of applying paint
  • Estonian: maalimine — the action of applying paint
  • Finnish: maalaustaide — the action of applying paint
  • French: peinture — the action of applying paint
  • Galician: pintado — the action of applying paint
  • German: Malerei — the action of applying paint
  • Greek: ζωγραφική (zografikí) — the action of applying paint
  • Ancient Greek: ζωγραφία (zōgraphía) — the action of applying paint
  • Hindi: पुताई (putāī) — the action of applying paint
  • Hindi: चुनाई (cunāī) — the action of applying paint
  • Irish: péinteáil — the action of applying paint
  • Italian: verniciatura — the action of applying paint
  • Italian: pittura — the action of applying paint
  • Japanese: 絵画 (kaiga) — the action of applying paint
  • Macedonian: бојадисување (bojadisuvanje) — the action of applying paint
  • Macedonian: боење (boenje) — the action of applying paint
  • Macedonian: фарбање (farbanje) — the action of applying paint
  • Māori: peitatanga — the action of applying paint
  • Ngarrindjeri: blewalawun — the action of applying paint
  • Norwegian: maleri — the action of applying paint
  • Old English: tīefring — the action of applying paint
  • Pannonian Rusyn: мальованє (malʹovanje) — the action of applying paint
  • Polish: malowanie — the action of applying paint
  • Portuguese: pintura — the action of applying paint
  • Romanian: pictare — the action of applying paint
  • Russian: жи́вопись (žívopisʹ) — the action of applying paint
  • Spanish: pintado — the action of applying paint
  • Spanish: pintura — the action of applying paint
  • Swedish: måleri — the action of applying paint
  • Swedish: målning — the action of applying paint
  • Tamil: பூசு (pūcu) — the action of applying paint
  • Tamil: அடி (aṭi) — the action of applying paint
  • Tamil: தீட்டு (tīṭṭu) — the action of applying paint
  • Volapük: kölam — the action of applying paint
  • Welsh: peintiad — the action of applying paint
  • Arabic: رَسْم فَنِّيّ (rasm fanniyy) — artistic application of paint
  • Arabic: فَنّ تَصْوِير زَيْتِيّ (fann taṣwīr zaytiyy) — artistic application of paint
  • Chinese Mandarin: 繪畫 /绘画 (huìhuà) — artistic application of paint
  • Chinese Mandarin: 油漆 (yóuqī) — artistic application of paint
  • Czech: malba — artistic application of paint
  • Danish: malerkunst — artistic application of paint
  • Dutch: schilderen — artistic application of paint
  • Dutch: schilderkunst — artistic application of paint
  • Esperanto: pentrado — artistic application of paint
  • Estonian: maalimine — artistic application of paint
  • Finnish: maalaustaide — artistic application of paint
  • Georgian: ფერწერა (perc̣era) — artistic application of paint
  • Georgian: მხატვრობა (mxaṭvroba) — artistic application of paint
  • German: Malerei — artistic application of paint
  • Ancient Greek: ζωγραφία (zōgraphía) — artistic application of paint
  • Hindi: चित्रकारी (citrakārī) — artistic application of paint
  • Hungarian: festőművészet — artistic application of paint
  • Irish: péinteáil — artistic application of paint
  • Irish: péintéireacht — artistic application of paint
  • Italian: dipinto — artistic application of paint
  • Japanese: 絵画 (kaiga) — artistic application of paint
  • Kannada: ಚಿತ್ರಕಲೆ (citrakale) — artistic application of paint
  • Latin: pictūra — artistic application of paint
  • Macedonian: слика́рство (slikárstvo) — artistic application of paint
  • Macedonian: живопис (živopis) — artistic application of paint
  • Norwegian Bokmål: malerkunst — artistic application of paint
  • Norwegian Nynorsk: målarkunst — artistic application of paint
  • Old English: tīefring — artistic application of paint
  • Pannonian Rusyn: мальованє (malʹovanje) — artistic application of paint
  • Pannonian Rusyn: сликарство (slikarstvo) — artistic application of paint
  • Polish: malarstwo — artistic application of paint
  • Portuguese: pintura — artistic application of paint
  • Romanian: pictură — artistic application of paint
  • Russian: жи́вопись (žívopisʹ) — artistic application of paint
  • Serbo-Croatian: сликарство — artistic application of paint
  • Serbo-Croatian: живопис — artistic application of paint
  • Serbo-Croatian: slikarstvo — artistic application of paint
  • Serbo-Croatian: živopis — artistic application of paint
  • Spanish: pintura — artistic application of paint
  • Swedish: måleri — artistic application of paint
  • Tamil: தீட்டு (tīṭṭu) — artistic application of paint
  • Ukrainian: живо́пис (žyvópys) — artistic application of paint
  • Ukrainian: маля́рство (maljárstvo) — artistic application of paint
  • Volapük: pänam — artistic application of paint
  • Welsh: peintiad — artistic application of paint
  • Welsh: arluniaeth — artistic application of paint
Real reading context

painting in complete knowledge articles