striking portrait
- noun
- The artist's latest exhibition includes a striking portrait of a famous historical figure.
Examples
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The museum featured a striking portrait of a young woman that drew everyone's attention.
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The Krakow-born immigrant is directly inspired by the courage of America's armed forces and captures this admiration in striking portraits, perfect for the day.
Blog text (28) -
Bottom: A computer reconstruction of 50 short-exposure images, each similar to the middle image, reveals a striking portrait of the HST, as seen from the ground, as it made a sunlit pass 800 kilometers (500 miles) from the Maui observatory.
Academic text (1994) -
Visitors were captivated by the striking portrait that adorned the gallery wall.
Synonyms
Pictures or photos that look very beautiful and impressive
Antonyms
How Striking
Surface Forms
Morphology
The adjective 'striking' (visually noticeable/impressive) directly modifies 'portrait' (an image of a person), so the combined meaning is transparently derived from the constituents following a basic adjective+noun composition. This is a common, cross-linguistically predictable pattern that a B1 learner who knows both words will readily understand.
Etymology
The phrase striking portrait comes from an older use of striking that meant 'to catch the eye'. Imagine a painting that suddenly grabs your attention, so a striking portrait means a very impressive, attention‑grabbing picture.