sfumato.

A painting technique that creates softly defined forms by blending neighboring tones without sharp boundaries.

Use it for

Words that belong together

• sfumato technique
• delicate sfumato
• use of sfumato

On the page

The portrait's sfumato lets the shadow under her cheek fade almost imperceptibly into the background.

Usage notes

Primary category: poetic / figurative / atmospheric. Lexical Type: Word. Forms: Usually uncountable; no ordinary plural in this sense. Commonness: uncommon (editorial estimate; not a corpus frequency statistic). Legacy lexical fields mirror sense 1; numbered fields keep each relevant meaning separate. Research distinction: Painting technique of blended tones and softened outlines, not literal mist. Established English loan item; distinct from sharply contrasted tenebrism. Writing functions: atmospheric description, sensory precision.