tableau
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tab·leau
(tăb′lō′, tă-blō′)n. pl. tab·leaux or tab·leaus (tăb′lōz′, tă-blōz′)
1. A vivid or graphic description: The movie was a tableau of a soldier's life.
2. A striking incidental scene, as of a picturesque group of people: "New public figures suddenly abound in the hitherto faceless totalitarian tableaux" (John McLaughlin).
3. An interlude during a scene when all the performers on stage freeze in position and then resume action as before.
4. A tableau vivant.
[French, from Old French tablel, diminutive of table, surface prepared for painting; see table.]
American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fifth Edition. Copyright © 2016 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.
tableau
(ˈtæbləʊ)n, pl -leaux (-ləʊ; -ləʊz) or -leaus
1. (Art Terms) same as tableau vivant
2. (Theatre) a pause during or at the end of a scene on stage when all the performers briefly freeze in position
3. any dramatic group or scene
4. (Logic) logic short for semantic tableau
[C17: from French, from Old French tablel a picture, diminutive of table]
Collins English Dictionary – Complete and Unabridged, 12th Edition 2014 © HarperCollins Publishers 1991, 1994, 1998, 2000, 2003, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2011, 2014
tab•leau
(tæˈbloʊ, ˈtæb loʊ)n., pl. tab•leaux (tæˈbloʊz, ˈtæb loʊz)
tab•leaus.
1. a picture, as of a scene.
2. a picturesque grouping of people or objects.
3. a representation of a picture, scene, etc., by one or more persons suitably costumed and posed.
[1690–1700; < French: board, picture]
Random House Kernerman Webster's College Dictionary, © 2010 K Dictionaries Ltd. Copyright 2005, 1997, 1991 by Random House, Inc. All rights reserved.
Tableau
a group of persons and props used to produce a picturesque effect, 1813.Dictionary of Collective Nouns and Group Terms. Copyright 2008 The Gale Group, Inc. All rights reserved.
ThesaurusAntonymsRelated WordsSynonymsLegend:
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| Noun | 1. | tableau - a group of people attractively arranged (as if in a painting) arrangement - an orderly grouping (of things or persons) considered as a unit; the result of arranging; "a flower arrangement" |
| 2. | tableau - any dramatic scene |
Based on WordNet 3.0, Farlex clipart collection. © 2003-2012 Princeton University, Farlex Inc.
tableau
noun picture, scene, representation, arrangement, spectacle a nativity tableau
Collins Thesaurus of the English Language – Complete and Unabridged 2nd Edition. 2002 © HarperCollins Publishers 1995, 2002
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