arty
1 Americanadjective
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characterized by a showy, pretentious, and often spurious display of artistic interest, manner, or mannerism.
noun
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a first name, form of Arthur.
abbreviation
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Artillery.
adjective
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informal having an ostentatious or affected interest in or desire to imitate artists or artistic standards
Other Word Forms
- artily adverb
- artiness noun
Etymology
Origin of arty
Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
What obviously matters to Stewart is the totality of experience and “The Chronology of Water,” arty and naturalistic in equal measure, is no toe-dip into directing — it’s deep-end stuff from start to finish.
From Los Angeles Times • Jan. 9, 2026
Last year they were seen in a rather arty black and white picture, showing them together as a family, but also with a style that owed something to an upmarket jeans advert.
From BBC • Dec. 19, 2024
“On me, they kind of pass as super, superthick arty frames.”
From Slate • Sep. 26, 2024
Chilean director Pablo Larraín, who most recently brought the arty horror film “El Conde” to Telluride, will return with “Maria,” starring Angelina Jolie as opera legend Maria Callas.
From Los Angeles Times • Aug. 29, 2024
He said he was mostly interested in the satiric rather than the arty side of painting.
From "Nine Stories" by J. D. Salinger
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.