Definitions

from The Century Dictionary.

  • noun See ensemble.

from the GNU version of the Collaborative International Dictionary of English.

  • noun All together; hence, in costume, the fine arts, etc., the general effect of a work as a whole, without regard to the execution of the separate perts.

from WordNet 3.0 Copyright 2006 by Princeton University. All rights reserved.

  • adverb with everything considered (and neglecting details)
  • noun a total impression or effect of something made up of individual parts
  • noun an assemblage of parts or details (as in a work of art) considered as forming a whole

Etymologies

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Examples

  • They viewed it in its tout-ensemble, nothing remained concealed but the ground hidden by verdure, the hollows of the valleys, and the interior of the volcanic chasms.

    The Mysterious Island 2005

  • They viewed it in its tout-ensemble, nothing remained concealed but the ground hidden by verdure, the hollows of the valleys, and the interior of the volcanic chasms.

    The Mysterious Island 2005

  • Happening to be on the ground at the hour of dinner, I saw them all marched off to their great dining-ball, where the table was well supplied with meat, vegetables, and pudding; it was all substantial and good, but the _tout-ensemble_ was decidedly very rough.

    Lands of the Slave and the Free Cuba, the United States, and Canada Henry A. Murray

  • A look at the company was not as _appétissant_ as a glass of bitters, but a peep at the _tout-ensemble_ was fatal; so, patience to the journey's end.

    Lands of the Slave and the Free Cuba, the United States, and Canada Henry A. Murray

  • He had looked for less finery, less physical development, less, indeed, of the grand operatic _tout-ensemble_.

    Stingaree 1893

  • They represented birds, bees, butterflies, and the other winged denizens of the forest-world, -- and the _tout-ensemble_ was so fairy-like and brilliant with swift movement, light, and color that the eye was too dazzled and confused to note objectionable details.

    Thelma Marie Corelli 1889

  • These various items collectively and in conjunction with the rooms in which they were gathered together form a tout-ensemble picturesque and homely withal.

    Frederic Chopin as a Man and Musician Niecks, Frederick 1888

  • The animation of his style is so subdued, its tenderness so refined, its melancholy so gentle, its niceties so studied and systematic, the tout-ensemble so perfect, and evidently the result of an accurate judgment and most finished taste, that when exhibited in the large concert - room, or the thronged saloon, it fails to impress itself on the mass.

    Frederic Chopin as a Man and Musician Niecks, Frederick 1888

  • Mr. Allingham's Fairy-Poems, but the tout-ensemble is poor.

    Miscellanies Oscar Wilde 1877

  • He glanced at it as a whole, admired the penmanship, and the fairy-like symmetry that make up the _tout-ensemble_ of the page, and was about to dissolve into another rhapsody, when Hapgood, who was not half so sentimental as the sergeant, became impatient to know the contents of the missive.

    The Soldier Boy; or, Tom Somers in the Army A Story of the Great Rebellion Oliver Optic 1859

Comments

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  • Considering the whole enchilada, nine yards, or shebang, like a Frenchman.

    January 8, 2012