Illustration of arabesque
- arabesque 1
ar·a·besque
ˌa-rə-ˈbesk 
ˌer-ə
1
: an ornament or style that employs flower, foliage, or fruit and sometimes animal and figural outlines to produce an intricate pattern of interlaced lines
2
: a posture (as in ballet) in which the body is bent forward from the hip on one leg with one arm extended forward and the other arm and leg backward
3
: an elaborate or intricate pattern
… richly pierced by an arabesque of wormholes.—
John Chase
John Chasean arabesque of vines and leaves
: of, relating to, or being in the style of arabesque or an arabesque
arabesque frescoes
Examples of arabesque in a Sentence
Noun
The students practiced their arabesques.
She held her arms in arabesque.
Recent Examples on the Web
Rachel Wetzler, Artforum, 1 Dec. 2024
Ruble perfected her movements in sync with the music and the other dancers, her head tilted at just the right angle, her arabesque hitting the correct line, her discipline and note-taking clearly paying off.
—Alexis Landau, Los Angeles Times, 25 Sep. 2024
Liam Hess, Vogue, 21 Nov. 2024
An untitled painting by Mark Rothko, meanwhile, went for $5.1 million with fees on a $3 million high estimate, and Edgar Degas’s bronze sculpture Grande arabesque, troisième temps, the first lot of the evening, sold for $1.7 million with fees on a $600,000 high estimate.
—Daniel Cassady, ARTnews.com, 19 Nov. 2024
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Noun
Thus Andy Dixon paints Day-Glo takes on Rococo romances, with sculptural nudes draped in loose tunics cavorting around pleasure gardens dotted with classical statuary; these same motifs are distilled into dainty arabesques and diaphanous whorls in the abstract canvases of Michaela Yearwood-Dan.
—Rachel Wetzler, Artforum, 1 Dec. 2024
Ruble perfected her movements in sync with the music and the other dancers, her head tilted at just the right angle, her arabesque hitting the correct line, her discipline and note-taking clearly paying off.
—Alexis Landau, Los Angeles Times, 25 Sep. 2024
Adjective
Not least in its dramatic centerpiece: a 20-meter pool featuring eight columns of arabesque marble, with sparkling niches of black-and-gold housing both relaxation areas and 19th-century replicas of classical statues.
—Liam Hess, Vogue, 21 Nov. 2024
An untitled painting by Mark Rothko, meanwhile, went for $5.1 million with fees on a $3 million high estimate, and Edgar Degas’s bronze sculpture Grande arabesque, troisième temps, the first lot of the evening, sold for $1.7 million with fees on a $600,000 high estimate.
—Daniel Cassady, ARTnews.com, 19 Nov. 2024
See all Example Sentences for arabesque
Dictionary Entries Near arabesque
Cite this Entry
“Arabesque.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/arabesque. Accessed 8 Feb. 2025.
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