airbrush
noun · verb
Simple meaning
An atomizer to spray paint using compressed air.
Pronunciation
Say it like this:
ehrbruhshSay the bold part a little louder.
IPA pronunciation (US)
ˈɛɹbɹəʃ
This word is pronounced essentially the same in American and British English, so one transcription covers both.
IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) is a standard way of writing speech sounds.
Definition
Everyday modern meanings first, grouped by part of speech.
noun
An atomizer to spray paint by means of compressed air
A miniature, handheld paint sprayer, powered by compressed air or other gas, used for delicate, artistic painting, or sometimes retouching of photographs.
verb
To touch up or enhance a photograph or person, often with intent to mislead.
by extensionfigurative
To edit or alter something in order to make it appear better.
To paint using an airbrush.
“The old car looks like new now that we airbrushed it.”
Word at a Glance
- Difficulty
- C1 · Advanced (estimated)
- Frequency
- Uncommon
- Formality
- Technical
Word Aura™
How this word commonly comes across.
Aura for this meaning
This meaning: An atomizer to spray paint by means of compressed air
Used this way, airbrush is a reasonably familiar word that usually carries little praise or criticism of its own. It usually sounds natural in a wide range of settings.
- Emotional tone
- Neutral
- Formality
- Neutral
- Intensity
- Not strongly marked
- How common
- Moderately common
- Connotation
- Matter-of-fact
- Usage feel
- Neutral and straightforward
Word Aura describes common impressions, not a measurement. Tone changes with sentence, speaker, relationship and situation.
More ways to use airbrush
- “The old car looks like new now that we airbrushed it.”verb
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Common Patterns and Combinations
How this word naturally appears with others.
Related Words
Connected to the same idea, not synonyms.
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Dictionary data from Wiktionary via the Free Dictionary API. Simple meanings, combinations and word intelligence are built from verified reference data, no AI is used to load this page.