How to Use trompe l'oeil in a Sentence

trompe l'oeil

noun
  • Does the trompe l'oeil look mean the beginning of the end for the bob?
    — Calin Van Paris, Vogue, 6 Aug. 2018
  • Down a second-floor hall Frroku painted lake scenes, framed with trompe l'oeil stone arches.
    — Judy Rose, Detroit Free Press, 18 Sep. 2021
  • For her part, Smith pushed back her curly mane to ensure attention was focused on her trompe l'oeil trick.
    — Calin Van Paris, Vogue, 20 Aug. 2019
  • The patisserie is known for its macarons in every color of the rainbow, as well as its trompe l'oeil ceiling.
    — Elise Taylor, Vogue, 20 Feb. 2019
  • Enter Lili Reinhart, and an evening-ready updo that moonlights as a trompe l'oeil chop.
    — Calin Van Paris, Vogue, 15 Nov. 2019
  • His study, in one of the towers, was inlaid with trompe l'oeil wooden panels showing his prowess in both war and culture.
    — Julia Buckley, CNN, 1 Feb. 2022
  • His artful trompe l'oeil fruit sculptures are almost too beautiful to eat (devour them anyway).
    — Alisha Prakash, Travel + Leisure, 27 June 2026
  • Don't miss the Sala delle Asse, frescoed as a trompe l'oeil forest by Leonardo himself.
    — Elizabeth Heath, Travel + Leisure, 25 Mar. 2024
  • Dion paid homage to her by wearing one of the pieces from her spring 2019 couture collection, a red and black trompe l'oeil dress.
    — Ana Colón, Glamour, 2 July 2019
  • The actor-producer walked the carpet in the signature trompe l'oeil skeleton dress from the brand's ready-to-wear collection.
    — Kathleen Walsh, Glamour, 24 Feb. 2023
  • The trompe l'oeil is forgivable, though, since polycarbonate is one of the most durable materials out there for hardside suitcases.
    — Stefanie Waldek, Travel + Leisure, 25 Jan. 2023
  • But a switch-up that requires neither makeup nor trompe l'oeil hair extensions makes for a memorable next-level beauty maneuver, even for the expert chameleon.
    — Calin Van Paris, Vogue, 15 Aug. 2018
  • Filled with antiques from around the world and outfitted with delightful details—like trompe l'oeil murals—the home is moody, elegant, and divinely inviting.
    — Kelly Allen, House Beautiful, 12 Mar. 2021
  • The trompe l'oeil case around the front door is my interpretation of a detail in the Chinese Bedroom at Claydon House.
    — Lisa Cregan, House Beautiful, 19 Jan. 2017
  • Green tones, dark wood, mirrors, living plant walls, trompe l'oeil garden, porcelain and silky fabrics create an intimate atmosphere for a business lunch or an intimate dinner.
    — Cécilia Pelloux, Forbes, 31 July 2022
  • Versace is on the floor, chairs, and tables in the room where the the designer sits on a Baroque-style chair in front of trompe l'oeil gilt boiserie walls, and pours tea from—but of course—Versace porcelain.
    — Lilah Ramzi, Vogue, 5 June 2018
  • Blaire Designs also looked to trompe l'oeil in this hall space, swathing the walls in what looks like an aged tile pattern, but is actually a De Gournay wallcovering.
    — Hadley Keller, House Beautiful, 21 Oct. 2022
  • Her collaborations with surrealist artists pushed trompe l'oeil into wearable couture.
    — Dr. Shaheena Janjuha-Jivraj, Forbes.com, 30 June 2026
  • Her front hall is decorated in trompe l'oeil draperies framing a Chinese landscape evoking all the time McCains have spent facing out over the Pacific.
    — P.j. O'Rourke, Town & Country, 29 Aug. 2018
  • Hanlon sought to transform Lina Hoss into a reincarnation of Ziggy Stardust, her dirty-blonde buzz cut topped in a trompe l'oeil mullet that was dyed a fiery tangerine.
    — Calin Van Paris, Vogue, 26 Feb. 2018
  • With a photographer, Crawford spent two days documenting each trompe l'oeil vignette and decorative moulding to use as material for the credit sequence.
    — Anna Fixsen, ELLE Decor, 3 Nov. 2022
  • In Atami, the photographer and his friends paid about $9 to get into the Trick Art Museum, where visitors can take photos in trompe l'oeil paintings.
    — New York Times, 21 Oct. 2017
  • Bassist Nick Seymour created the illusory bunny-featuring trompe l'oeil album cover during lockdown.
    — Katherine Turman, EW.com, 1 June 2021
  • With rumors swirling that the transformation was the result of a full 15 hours in the colorist's chair, rather than the handiwork of a temporary trompe l'oeil wig, only a front row appearance at New York Fashion Week will tell.
    — Calin Van Paris, Vogue, 6 Sep. 2017

Some of these examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'trompe l'oeil.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.

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