encaustic

E1N1C3A1U1S1T1I1C3

adjective

Prepared by means of heat; burned in.

OriginAncient Greek ἐγκαυστικός →
UncommonScrabble 13
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Meanings

adjectiveencaustic (not comparable)

alternative obsolete encaustick

  1. not comparableartPrepared by means of heat; burned in.

    After all, no sealant or finish is necessary in the encaustic medium, and shellac is stinky, caustic and messy.

    2019, Patricia Baldwin Seggebruch, Encaustic Workshop, Penguin, →ISBN, page 90
nounencaustic (countable and uncountable, plural encaustics)

plural encaustics · alternative obsolete encaustick

  1. countableuncountableA wax-based paint that is fixed in place by heating.

    I have worked in encaustic and I really love encaustic printmaking, but when it comes to painting, I love my acrylics.

    2015, Sandra Duran Wilson, Acrylic Painting for Encaustic Effects: 45 Wax Free Techniques, Penguin, →ISBN
    1 more example

    It has become usual in discussions of Flags facture to use the terms, suggested by [Jasper] Johns himself, ‘'encaustic, oil and collage on fabric’.

    1994, Fred Orton, Figuring Jasper Johns, Reaktion Books, →ISBN, page 114
  2. countablepaintingA painting produced using this type of paint.

Origin

  1. Ancient Greekἐγκαυστικός“burning in”
  2. Englishencaustic

From Ancient Greek ἐγκαυστικός (enkaustikós, “burning in”), from καίω (kaíō, “to burn”).

More words from Ancient Greek

Full word history & related roots →

Rhymes & wordplay

Rhymes with encaustic

causticacrosticapolausticcatacausticdiacaustic
All rhymes →

Anagrams

succinateunascetic
Cite this entry
APA

encaustic. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 3, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/encaustic

MLA

“encaustic.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/encaustic. Accessed November 3, 2026.

Chicago

WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “encaustic,” accessed November 3, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/encaustic.

Source: encaustic on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.