motif

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.

At Herat's central mosque, which is covered in blue ceramic tiles, there are delicate floral and geometric motifs created by Behzad.

From Barron's

But it’s less clear whether a poet searching for a metaphor or a composer developing a motif works by gridding constraints and digging methodically.

From The Wall Street Journal

It shows a red outline of a hand whose fingers were reworked, researchers say, to create a claw-like motif which indicates an early leap in symbolic imagination.

From BBC

Here, across 12 minutes, the orchestra turns a four-note motif into a vivid tone poem—shifting moods and colors, restless movement, and a brilliant closing spotlight for virtuoso clarinetist Jimmy Hamilton.

From The Wall Street Journal

She uses motifs to emphasize the dialectic of continuity and change, such as the portrait that acts as an unchanging backdrop to family meals even as other once-priceless objects are sold off.

From The Wall Street Journal