Photographic
/ˌfoʊtəˈɡræfɪk/
Definitions
2 meaningsRelating to or produced by photography; involving the process of creating images using light-sensitive materials.
/ˌfoʊtəˈɡræfɪk/
Relating to or involving photography or photographs.
The artist had a keen photographic eye.
💡 Simply: It's like something that has to do with taking pictures or the pictures themselves! Like the 'photographic memory' you may have heard of, which means you remember things as clear as a photograph.
👶 For kids: It means something about pictures that are taken with a camera!
More Examples
The museum featured a series of photographic prints.
The documentary used photographic evidence to support its claims.
How It's Used
"The museum held a photographic exhibition."
"The photographic process requires specific chemicals."
Describing the ability to remember things in great detail, as if looking at a photograph.
/ˌfoʊtəˈɡræfɪk/
Having the ability to accurately and vividly remember details like a photograph.
She possessed a photographic memory, recalling every detail from her childhood.
💡 Simply: Ever met someone who remembers every tiny detail, almost like they took a picture of it in their brain? That's a photographic memory!
👶 For kids: It's like having a super brain that can remember things like a picture!
More Examples
His photographic memory allowed him to memorize long sequences of numbers.
The detective's photographic memory helped him solve the case quickly.
How It's Used
"He claimed to have a photographic memory."
From Greek *phōtos* (light) and *graphos* (drawing, writing), combined with the suffix *-ic*. Photography, the root of the word, was initially described as 'writing with light'.
Used since the mid-19th century, coinciding with the invention and proliferation of photography.
Memory tip
Think of the picture you took, and how it's a photographic record.
Practice
Word Origin
Root: photo- (light) and -graph (drawing, writing)