underpainting

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noun

An initial layer of paint, often monochromatic, applied to a ground as a base for subsequent layers.

Scrabble 17
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Meanings

underpainting1

noununderpainting (countable and uncountable, plural underpaintings)

plural underpaintings

  1. countableuncountableartAn initial layer of paint, often monochromatic, applied to a ground as a base for subsequent layers.

    He would start with a stenciled acrylic underpainting and finish by making marks with the chalk and charcoal shells.

    2007 May 13, Carol Kino, “Something There Is That Loves a Wall”, in New York Times
  2. countableuncountableartA painting that the artist later painted over to create the final work.

    At first they wouldn't believe him, but he gave them proof. X-ray the Adulteress, he told them, and you will find an underpainting. They did and found the underpainting van Meegeren had described.

    2012, Leo Katz, Bad Acts and Guilty Minds: Conundrums of the Criminal Law

underpainting2

verb
  1. gerundparticiplepresentpresent participle and gerund of underpaint

Origin

underpainting · noun

From under- + painting.

Full word history & related roots →

underpainting · verb

From underpaint + -ing.

Full word history & related roots →
Cite this entry
APA

underpainting. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 4, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/underpainting

MLA

“underpainting.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/underpainting. Accessed November 4, 2026.

Chicago

WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “underpainting,” accessed November 4, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/underpainting.

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