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Glite Dictionary
🦜 Brightly colored 🎨 Covered with paint 😐 Not genuine 💄 With makeup
painted

painted

6.7
Showing an expression that is not real
  • adjective
  • /ˈpeɪntɪd/
translation icon : fingido
  • The actor gave a painted performance, lacking the depth and emotion that the role required.

It all is painted by numbers and I'm OK with that.

Examples

  • His enthusiasm for the project felt painted, as though he was merely going through the motions.

  • Case Labs is like doing a custom painted case for me for this project.

  • The pride for the city and schools is painted in a concerning light in the podcast.

  • So it's basically just a painted crowbar.

  • The fire animal sky is orange, like painted lids.

  • I think they're like hand painted super luxurious fancy sneakers.

  • Her smile seemed painted, as if she was hiding her true feelings from everyone around her.

Synonyms

artsy
vspainted
  • Informal
4 7.5

Trying to look like an artist but seeming fake or forced

is more generally fake and superficially applied rather than truly felt
artsy-craftsy
vspainted
  • Informal
8.2

Trying to look artistic in a homemade arts and crafts style that looks a bit silly

is about artificial feeling rather than amateurish decoration or playfulness

Antonyms

sincere
239 2.5

Being honest and showing what you really feel

genuine
156 3.2

Truly felt and not fake, for example a smile or apology

Idioms

as black as one is painted
  • Archaic
8.7

Not as bad or evil as people say

not as black as one is painted
  • Informal
8.9

Less bad than people often say

Compounds

painted turtle
  • US
1 5.1

A freshwater turtle with bright yellow and red marks on its shell and skin

painted beauty
  • US
9.7

A North American butterfly with dark brown wings and white and orange spots

painted sandgrouse
  • Indian
9.5

A bird with bright patterned feathers that lives in dry parts of India

painted terrapin
  • US
9.5

A freshwater turtle with bright yellow and red markings on its shell and head

painted tongue
9.9

A small garden plant with bright, soft, trumpet-shaped flowers often yellow or purple

painted tortoise
  • US
7.5

A freshwater turtle with bright yellow and red markings on its shell and skin

painted-leaf begonia
8.4

A plant grown indoors with colorful patterned leaves for decoration

painted cup
  • US
9.6

A wild plant with bright red or orange flower parts that look like a brush

painted daisy
  • Indian
7.4

A garden plant from Asia with divided scented leaves and white, pink, or purple flowers that keeps insects away

Painted Desert
6.8

A desert on a high plateau in northeastern Arizona with colorful layered rocks

painted greenling
  • US
9.9

A small fish that lives near the coast and has a light body with dark bands

painted Jezebel
  • Slur
9.9

A woman who wears heavy makeup and dresses to attract sexual attention

painted leaf
8.3

A tropical plant with bright red leaves and poisonous milky sap

painted nettle
8.1

A tropical plant with bright, colorful leaves grown for gardens or pots

How Natural

natural
660 1.0
painted
6.7
phony
  • Informal
220 5.3

Surface Forms

painted positive

Morphology

painted = paint (semi-transparent) = paint + ed

Metaphorical extension: 'painted' describes an artificial or superficially applied appearance derived from literal painting, so learners can often infer the meaning but it is figurative.

Etymology

Painted also has a figurative use because paint can 'cover' what is under it, making a surface look different. So a painted smile or look feels false or not real because it hides true feeling.