Standard Lemma guide

pastiche

noun · verb · 7 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.

  • /pæˈstiːʃ/
  • US: Recorded audio is listed in the source snapshot.
  • rhymes with -iːʃ
  • CMU ARPABET: P AE2 S T IY1 SH Digits mark lexical stress: 1 primary, 2 secondary, 0 unstressed.

1

noun

Meaning 1

A work of art, drama, literature, music, or architecture that imitates the work of a previous artist, usually in a positive or neutral way.

Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract

Usage: countable, uncountable

No example sentence was provided for this meaning.

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: none provided

Antonyms: none provided

2

noun

Meaning 2

A musical medley, typically quoting other works.

Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract

Usage: countable, uncountable

No example sentence was provided for this meaning.

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: none provided

Antonyms: none provided

3

noun

Meaning 3

An incongruous mixture; a hodgepodge.

Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract

Usage: countable, uncountable

Examples

  • This supposed research paper is a pastiche of passages from unrelated sources.
  • The house failed to attract a buyer because the decor was a pastiche of Bohemian and Scandinavian styles.

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: none provided

Antonyms: none provided

4

noun

Meaning 4

A postmodern playwriting technique that fuses a variety of styles, genres, and story lines to create a new form.

Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract

Usage: uncountable

No example sentence was provided for this meaning.

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: none provided

Antonyms: none provided

5

verb

Meaning 5

To create or compose in a mixture of styles.

Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract

No example sentence was provided for this meaning.

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: none provided

Antonyms: none provided

6

noun

Meaning 6

a work of art that imitates the style of some previous work

Definition source: Princeton WordNet 3.0

No example sentence was provided for this meaning.

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: none provided

Antonyms: none provided

Broader terms: work of art

7

noun

Meaning 7

a musical composition consisting of a series of songs or other musical pieces from various sources

Definition source: Princeton WordNet 3.0

No example sentence was provided for this meaning.

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: medley, potpourri

Antonyms: none provided

Broader terms: musical composition, opus, composition, piece, piece of music

History

Etymology

Via French pastiche, from Italian pasticcio (“pie, something blended”), from Vulgar Latin *pastīcius, from Late Latin pasta (“dough, pastry cake, paste”), from Ancient Greek παστά (pastá, “barley porridge”), from παστός (pastós, “sprinkled with salt”). Doublet of pasticcio.

Across languages

Translations

34 source translations are retained for this English entry.

  • Catalan: pastitx — work that imitates the work of a previous artist
  • Czech: pastiš — work that imitates the work of a previous artist
  • Danish: pastiche — work that imitates the work of a previous artist
  • Dutch: pastiche — work that imitates the work of a previous artist
  • Esperanto: pastiĉo — work that imitates the work of a previous artist
  • Finnish: pastissi — work that imitates the work of a previous artist
  • French: pastiche — work that imitates the work of a previous artist
  • German: Pastiche — work that imitates the work of a previous artist
  • Japanese: パスティーシュ (pasutīshu) — work that imitates the work of a previous artist
  • Korean: 파스티슈 (paseutisyu) — work that imitates the work of a previous artist
  • Norwegian: pastisj — work that imitates the work of a previous artist
  • Polish: pastisz — work that imitates the work of a previous artist
  • Portuguese: pastiche — work that imitates the work of a previous artist
  • Portuguese: pasticho — work that imitates the work of a previous artist
  • Romanian: pastișă — work that imitates the work of a previous artist
  • Russian: стилиза́ция (stilizácija) — work that imitates the work of a previous artist
  • Russian: пасти́ш (pastíš) — work that imitates the work of a previous artist
  • Russian: имита́ция (imitácija) — work that imitates the work of a previous artist
  • Spanish: pastiche — work that imitates the work of a previous artist
  • Swedish: pastisch — work that imitates the work of a previous artist
  • Turkish: pastiş — work that imitates the work of a previous artist
  • Danish: potpourri — musical medley
  • Esperanto: pastiĉo — musical medley
  • Finnish: potpuri — musical medley
  • French: pastiche — musical medley
  • German: Potpourri — musical medley
  • Portuguese: pot-pourri — musical medley
  • Russian: попурри́ (popurrí) — musical medley
  • Catalan: pastitx — incongruous mixture; a hodgepodge
  • Dutch: mengelmoes — incongruous mixture; a hodgepodge
  • Esperanto: mikspoto — incongruous mixture; a hodgepodge
  • Finnish: sekasotku — incongruous mixture; a hodgepodge
  • Russian: мешани́на (mešanína) — incongruous mixture; a hodgepodge
  • Russian: смесь (smesʹ) — incongruous mixture; a hodgepodge