Word of the Day: Picture

pic-ture / ˈpik(t)SHər   noun  

1. a visual representation of something or someone, like a painting, photograph, etc.

A picture can hide as much as it reveals. Alexandra Petri, 1988-  

2. a vivid description that triggers a mental image

It is too easy to say ‘what if’ and paint a picture of a perfect world. Darren Shan, 1972-  

3. a copy or example

Justice is a rare illness in a world that is otherwise a picture of health. from ‘The Angel’s Game’ by Carlos Ruiz Zafón, 1964-  

4. plural, movies

You oughta be in pictures, You’re wonderful to see, You oughta be in pictures, Oh what a hit you would be! from the song ‘You Oughta Be in Pictures’, lyrics by Edward Heyman, 1907-1981  

5. a situation

To be a champion, I think you have to see the big picture. Summer Sanders, 1972-   verb  

1. to imagine or form a mental image

The image of them gently swaying to the music is how I picture love in my mind even after all these years. from ‘The Name of the Wind’ by Patrick Rothfuss, 1973-  

2. to describe vividly

The universe can best be pictured as consisting of pure thought, the thought of what for want of a better word we must describe as a mathematical thinker. James Jeans, 1877-1946  

3. to represent in an image

General de Gaulle is again pictured in our newspapers, looking as usual like an embattled codfish. Sylvia Townsend Warner, 1893-1978  

4. to portray

[There] is a lot of evil in the world, and while maybe the devil isn’t exactly the way he’s pictured in old books and B-grade movies, he is active and fighting on the side of evil. from ‘American Wife: A Memoir of Love, War, Faith and Renewal’ by Taya Kyle, 1974-