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Glite Dictionary
contrasty

contrasty

1 6.8
A photo with strong differences between light and dark or between colours
  • adjective
  • /kənˈtræsti/
: contraste
  • Things get less contrasty as you go.
  • contrasty images
  • contrasty views

They always spray the roads down to the concrete, the asphalt, any of that is all really rich and contrasty and glistening from being wet when the lights hit them.

Examples

  • I wanted to sit on the balcony to witness the changing light, but the high sun soon bathed the town in a very bright, contrasty light.

    Academic text (2006)

  • However, I prefer less contrasty films that can capture the delicate tonality of flowers and are easier to work with.

    Academic text (2005)

  • It's a contrasty image that is to my taste, but it is each person is going to have their own feeling about that.

  • About the photos, in the reproduction process they have been enhanced, but they have also become very contrasty.

    Blog text (34)

  • On the other hand, if one must deal with contrasty light, one can often include the shadows in compositions to create new patterns.

    Academic text (2010)

  • I love a more contrasty look on the Moon, highlighting the differences between the mare and the highlands.

    Blog text (9)

  • It can be dull, bright, flat, contrasty, or changeable.

    Academic text (1994)

  • "This app allows me to desaturate images, while tweaking the contrast and sharpening for a nice, contrasty, and slightly noisy black and white finish," she says.

    Blog text (18)

  • The photographs I was working from were so dark and contrasty, it was hard to get the details right.

  • But for the sharpest, most contrasty results, shoot at ISO 800 or even 400.

Synonyms

contrasting
vscontrasty
15 3.7

Clearly different from one another in a way you notice

focuses on strong visual differences in light color tone and style

Antonyms

flat
248 4.4

Not lively and often weak in taste or sound

How Contrasting

bold
61 2.2
contrasty
1 6.8
muted
15 4.2
subtle
339 6.0

Surface Forms

contrasty positive

Morphology

contrasty = contrast (transparent) = contrast + y

Formed by the productive suffix '-y' from 'contrast' meaning 'characterised by or full of contrast', so the meaning is directly derivable.

Etymology

Contrasty comes from contrast, which has the part contra meaning 'against'. So to call a picture contrasty is to say its light and dark parts or its colors stand 'against' each other, making strong, clear differences.