tenebrism

T1E1N1E1B3R1I1S1M3
/ˈtɛnəbɹɪzəm/

noun

A style of painting using very pronounced chiaroscuro, with darkness a dominating feature of the image.

OriginItalian tenebrismo ← Latin tenebrōsus →
Scrabble 13
Ask AI about this wordChatGPTClaudePerplexityGoogle AIGrok

Meanings

nountenebrism (uncountable)

alternative Tenebrism

  1. uncountableartA style of painting using very pronounced chiaroscuro, with darkness a dominating feature of the image.

Origin

  1. Latintenebrōsus“dark, gloomy”
  2. Italiantenebrismo
  3. Englishtenebrism

From Italian tenebrismo, from tenebroso + -ismo, from Latin tenebrōsus (“dark, gloomy”).

More words from Italian, Latin

Full word history & related roots →

Rhymes & wordplay

Anagrams

brisement
Cite this entry
APA

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

MLA

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

Chicago

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

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