Phrase guide

still life

noun · 3 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

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  • /ˌstɪl ˈlaɪf/
  • Southern-England: Recorded audio is listed in the source snapshot.

1

noun

Meaning 1

A work of art depicting an arrangement of inanimate objects.

Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract

Qualifier: painting

No example sentence was provided for this meaning.

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: none provided

Antonyms: none provided

2

noun

Meaning 2

A pattern that does not change from one generation to the next.

Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract

Usage: countable, usually

Topics: cellular-automata, computing, engineering, mathematics, natural-sciences, physical-sciences, sciences

No example sentence was provided for this meaning.

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: none provided

Antonyms: none provided

Narrower terms: beehive, block, boat, loaf, ship

3

noun

Meaning 3

a painting of inanimate objects such as fruit or flowers

Definition source: Princeton WordNet 3.0

No example sentence was provided for this meaning.

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: none provided

Antonyms: none provided

Broader terms: painting, picture

History

Etymology

Calque of Dutch stilleven.

Across languages

Translations

52 source translations are retained for this English entry.

  • Afrikaans: stillewe — work of art
  • Afrikaans: stilleweskilderkuns — work of art
  • Armenian: նատյուրմորտ (natyurmort) — work of art
  • Azerbaijani: natürmort — work of art
  • Belarusian: нацюрмо́рт (nacjurmórt) — work of art
  • Bulgarian: натюрмо́рт (natjurmórt) — work of art
  • Catalan: natura morta — work of art
  • Catalan: bodegó — work of art
  • Chinese Mandarin: 靜物畫 /静物画 (jìngwùhuà) — work of art
  • Czech: zátiší — work of art
  • Danish: stilleben — work of art
  • Dutch: stilleven — work of art
  • Esperanto: muta naturo — work of art
  • Esperanto: senviva sceno — work of art
  • Esperanto: aĵpentraĵo — work of art
  • Estonian: natüürmort — work of art
  • Estonian: vaikelu — work of art
  • Finnish: asetelma — work of art
  • French: nature morte — work of art
  • Galician: natureza morta — work of art
  • Georgian: ნატურმორტი (naṭurmorṭi) — work of art
  • German: Stillleben — work of art
  • Greek: νεκρή φύση (nekrí fýsi) — work of art
  • Hungarian: csendélet — work of art
  • Irish: neamhbheo — work of art
  • Italian: natura morta — work of art
  • Japanese: 静物画 (seibutsuga) — work of art
  • Kazakh: натюрморт (natürmort) — work of art
  • Korean: 정물화 (jeongmulhwa) — work of art
  • Latin: natura mortua — work of art
  • Latvian: klusā daba — work of art
  • Lithuanian: natiurmortas — work of art
  • Maltese: natura mejta — work of art
  • Norwegian Bokmål: stilleben — work of art
  • Norwegian Nynorsk: stilleben — work of art
  • Polish: martwa natura — work of art
  • Portuguese: natureza-morta — work of art
  • Portuguese: natureza morta — work of art
  • Romanian: natură moartă — work of art
  • Russian: натюрмо́рт (natjurmórt) — work of art
  • Serbo-Croatian: мртва природа — work of art
  • Serbo-Croatian: mrtva priroda — work of art
  • Slovene: tihožitje — work of art
  • Spanish: bodegón — work of art
  • Spanish: naturaleza muerta — work of art
  • Swedish: stilleben — work of art
  • Tajik: натюрморт (natyurmort) — work of art
  • Turkish: natürmort — work of art
  • Turkish: ölüdoğa — work of art
  • Ukrainian: натюрмо́рт (natjurmórt) — work of art
  • Vietnamese: tĩnh vật hoạ — work of art
  • Welsh: bywyd llonydd — work of art