impressionist

Everyday

1. A performer who copies the voices and ways of famous people for entertainment. tree →
2. (art) An Impressionist is one of a group of painters in France in the late 1800s, such as Claude Monet and Pierre-Auguste Renoir, who painted light and colour quickly in short brushstrokes to show a moment as it looked. tree →
3. (adjective) In this style: Impressionist paintings; also used for some music, like Debussy's. tree →

In the lessons

In art lessons, children copy Impressionist paintings of water lilies, gardens, boats and sunsets and use dabs of colour. In everyday life, an impressionist on TV does funny celebrity voices. Phrases: French Impressionists, Impressionist painting, a TV impressionist.

Examples

• Monet was a famous Impressionist who painted water lilies. tree →
• We painted sunflowers in an Impressionist style with short dabs. tree →
• The Impressionists liked to paint outdoors to catch the light. tree →
• The impressionist did the voices of five famous footballers. tree →
• Impressionist paintings look blurry up close and clear from far away. tree →
• My uncle is a great impressionist; he sounds just like our grandad. tree →

Note

The art movement is often written with a capital I: «Impressionism», «the Impressionists». The name came from Monet's painting «Impression, Sunrise» (1872), and a critic first used it as a joke. A performer who copies voices «does impressions».