as in makeup
preparations intended to beautify the face
when I was young, I loved to watch Mom put on her war paint before a fancy evening out
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Example Sentences
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Recent Examples of war paint
Their textured human faces, complete with war paint and a five-o’-clock shadow, were mercilessly rendered into a few similarly shaded squares.
—
Yussef Cole, New York Times, 24 Jan. 2025
On stage, drag artist Aphrodite Banks is a femme fatale: Caked in war paint, with a waterfall of braids whipping around her waist, she’s possessed of the white-hot glare and forthright confidence to match her Amazonian height and bearing.
—Guy Lodge, Variety, 21 Feb. 2023
This is my war paint.
—Kelly Boutsalis, refinery29.com, 22 June 2021
My father used to call it war paint.
—Jenna Rosenstein, Harper's BAZAAR, 30 Apr. 2021
See All Example Sentences for war paint
Yussef Cole, New York Times, 24 Jan. 2025
On stage, drag artist Aphrodite Banks is a femme fatale: Caked in war paint, with a waterfall of braids whipping around her waist, she’s possessed of the white-hot glare and forthright confidence to match her Amazonian height and bearing.
—Guy Lodge, Variety, 21 Feb. 2023
This is my war paint.
—Kelly Boutsalis, refinery29.com, 22 June 2021
My father used to call it war paint.
—Jenna Rosenstein, Harper's BAZAAR, 30 Apr. 2021
See All Example Sentences for war paint
Recent Examples of Synonyms for war paint
Noun
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British makeup artist and designer Isamaya Ffrench has launched Studio Iron, a gallery and concept store in London that invites artists to create design objects and sculpture, that dissolve boundaries between genres, reports WWD.—
Devorah Lauter,
ARTnews.com,
19 May 2026
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But the moon’s geological makeup gives moonquakes a surprising persistence compared with earthquakes; the tremors can last for several hours.—
Robin George Andrews,
Scientific American,
19 May 2026
Noun
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This would be an entertaining video to show up on your doom scroll late at night, seeing how paint colors can be mixed and matched to present the color of your opponent, but two and a half minutes of this?—
Jon Root OutKick,
FOXNews.com,
16 May 2026
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Toronto was shorthanded in the frontcourt without starting center Temi Fagbenle (right shoulder), and the Sparks trio of bigs had a field day with 54 points in the paint.—
Marisa Ingemi,
Los Angeles Times,
16 May 2026
Cite this Entry
“War paint.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/war%20paint. Accessed 21 May. 2026.
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