underpainting
underpainting noun: an initial layer of paint, often monochromatic, applied to a ground as a base for subsequent layers. Also the present participle and gerund of underpaint.
Noun
underpainting (countable and uncountable, plural underpaintings)
- An 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
- A 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
Also used as
underpainting is also the present participle and gerund of underpaint.
Forms of underpainting
| plural | underpaintings |
|---|
Origin of underpainting
From under- + painting.
From underpaint + -ing.
Questions about underpainting
- What does underpainting mean?
- Underpainting means an initial layer of paint, often monochromatic, applied to a ground as a base for subsequent layers.
- What part of speech is underpainting?
- Underpainting is a noun.
- What is the plural of underpainting?
- The plural of underpainting is underpaintings.
Words near underpainting in the dictionary
Source and license
Adapted from Wiktionary: underpainting (page history and authors). Text available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 license. Word.ws reformatted the entry and added links. Wiktionary data of 2026-09-02.
Last updated:
Pronunciation audio from Wikimedia Commons, each file under its own free license: LL-Q1860 (eng)-Flame, not lame-underpainting.wav.
Cite this entry: “underpainting.” Word.ws, https://word.ws/underpainting. Based on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.