matte
noun · adjective · verb
Simple meaning
An instrument for producing a dull, lustreless surface.
Pronunciation
Say it like this:
matIPA pronunciation (US)
ˈmæt
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 instrument for producing a dull, lustreless surface.
artphotography
A decorative border around a picture used to inset and center the contents of a frame.
adjective
American spelling
Dull; not reflective of light.
verb
transitive
To produce a dull, lustreless surface on (metal).
Word Aura™
How this word commonly comes across.
Aura for this meaning
This meaning: An instrument for producing a dull, lustreless surface.
Used this way, matte 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 matte
- “The artist preferred a matte finish on her painting to avoid shine.”noun
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More about this wordSynonyms, forms, origin
Synonyms
Sense: dull
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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.