mannerism

/ˈmænəˌɹɪzəm/

mannerism noun: a noticeable personal habit, a verbal or other (often, but not necessarily unconscious) habitual behavior peculiar to an individual.

Noun (1)

mannerism (countable and uncountable, plural mannerisms)

A noticeable personal habit, a verbal or other (often, but not necessarily unconscious) habitual behavior peculiar to an individual.
- The Inspector looked round. He knew well enough that they were alone in the study at The Turrets, but the action had become something of a mannerism with him.1923, Ernest Bramah [pseudonym; Ernest Brammah Smith], “(please specify the page)”, in The Eyes of Max Carrados, London: Grant Richards, →OCLC
- In the old days, to my commonplace and unobserving mind, he gave no evidences of genius whatsoever. He never read me any of his manuscripts, […], and therefore my lack of detection of his promise may in some degree be pardoned. But he had then none of the oddities and mannerisms which I hold to be...1897 December (indicated as 1898), Winston Churchill, chapter I, in The Celebrity: An Episode, New York, N.Y.: The Macmillan Company; London: Macmillan & Co., Ltd., →OCLC
Exaggerated or affected style in art, speech, or other behavior.
- artists […] dabblingly pursuing a kind of formalist mannerism merely in the interest of careerism1984, Rasheed Araeen, Guy Brett, Making myself visible
- He generally spoke without academic mannerism, though on occasion he dipped into the over-wrought thickets of eduspeak to find words like “antithetical” or “foci” or “interface.”1992, C Fraser Smith, Lenny, Lefty, and the Chancellor

Noun (2)

mannerism (countable and uncountable, plural mannerisms)

In literature, an ostentatious and unnatural style of the second half of the sixteenth century. In the contemporary criticism, described as a negation of the classicist equilibrium, pre-Baroque, and deforming expressiveness.
In fine art, a style that is inspired by previous models, aiming to reproduce subjects in an expressive language.

Noun (3) capitalized: Mannerism

Mannerism (uncountable)

A style of art developed at the end of the High Renaissance, characterized by the deliberate distortion and exaggeration of perspective and especially the elongation of figures.

mannerism meaning in Hindi, Tamil, Urdu and Bengali

mannerism in Hindi

mannerism, airs: नख़रा naxrā

mannerism in Tamil

நடத்தை, நடையுடை, தனிப்பழக்கம்

mannerism in Urdu

mannerism, airs: نخرا naxrā

mannerism in Bengali

mannerism: মুদ্রা mudra

More languagesFewer languages

mannerism in Malayalam: ചേഷ്ടാവിശേഷം, ശീലവൈകൃതം
mannerism in Kannada: ವಿಲಕ್ಷಣತೆ, ವೈಲಕ್ಷಣ್ಯ, ಯಾವುದೇ ರೀತಿಯನ್ನು ಅತಿ ಬಳಸುವುದು, ಹೆಚ್ಚುಬಳಕೆಯ ಮೋಡಿ

Examples of mannerism in a sentence

There's just this nervous mannerism that Bob has with his hands, and it drives me crazy.
He tried to mirror Elvis's life by copying his fashion and mannerisms.
With his dramatic mannerisms and gestures, the actor really made the role his own.

All 23 example sentences with mannerism

Synonyms of mannerism

Forms of mannerism

plural	mannerisms
alternative form	Mannerism

Origin of mannerism

From manner + -ism.

From Italian manierismo, from maniera, coined by Luigi Lanzi at the end of the 18ᵗʰ century.

Words formed from mannerism

Counter-Mannerism

Questions about mannerism

What does mannerism mean?: Mannerism means a noticeable personal habit, a verbal or other (often, but not necessarily unconscious) habitual behavior peculiar to an individual.
What is mannerism in Hindi?: Mannerism in Hindi is नख़रा (naxrā). See Mannerism meaning in Hindi.
What part of speech is mannerism?: Mannerism is a noun.
How do you pronounce mannerism?: Mannerism is pronounced /ˈmænəˌɹɪzəm/.
What is the plural of mannerism?: The plural of mannerism is mannerisms.

Words near mannerism in the dictionary

Last updated: 2026-09-02

Pronunciation audio from Wikimedia Commons, each file under its own free license: LL-Q1860 (eng)-Flame, not lame-mannerism.wav.

Cite this entry: “mannerism.” Word.ws, https://word.ws/mannerism. Based on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.