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Webster's New World College Dictionary » mannerism
mannerism
mannerism definition
man·ner·ism (man′ər iz′əm)
noun
- excessive use of some distinctive, often affected, manner or style in art, literature, speech, or behavior
- a peculiarity of manner in behavior, speech, etc. that has become a habit
- a 16th-cent. style in art characterized by distortion of realistic proportions, contorted figures, an avoidance of classical balance, etc.
Related Forms:
- mannerist man′·ner·ist noun, adjective
- manneristic man′·ner·is′·tic adjective
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