TEXTURE

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 Dictionary entry overview: What does texture mean? 

• TEXTURE (noun)
  The noun TEXTURE has 5 senses:

1. the feel of a surface or a fabric

2. the essential quality of something

3. the musical pattern created by parts being played or sung together

4. the characteristic appearance of a surface having a tactile quality

5. the physical composition of something (especially with respect to the size and shape of the small constituents of a substance)

  Familiarity information: TEXTURE used as a noun is common.

 Dictionary entry details 

• TEXTURE (noun)

Sense 1

Meaning:

The feel of a surface or a fabric

Classified under:

Nouns denoting attributes of people and objects

Context example:

the wall had a smooth texture

Hypernyms ("texture" is a kind of...):

feel; tactile property (a property perceived by touch)

Attribute:

coarse; harsh (of textures that are rough to the touch or substances consisting of relatively large particles)

fine (of textures that are smooth to the touch or substances consisting of relatively small particles)

Hyponyms (each of the following is a kind of "texture"):

nap (a soft or fuzzy surface texture)

smoothness (a texture without roughness; smooth to the touch)

raggedness; roughness (a texture of a surface or edge that is not smooth but is irregular and uneven)

Sense 2

Meaning:

The essential quality of something

Classified under:

Nouns denoting cognitive processes and contents

Context example:

the texture of Neapolitan life

Hypernyms ("texture" is a kind of...):

character; lineament; quality (a characteristic property that defines the apparent individual nature of something)

Sense 3

Meaning:

The musical pattern created by parts being played or sung together

Classified under:

Nouns denoting attributes of people and objects

Context example:

then another melodic line is added to the texture

Hypernyms ("texture" is a kind of...):

musicality; musicalness (the property of sounding like music)

Sense 4

Meaning:

The characteristic appearance of a surface having a tactile quality

Classified under:

Nouns denoting attributes of people and objects

Hypernyms ("texture" is a kind of...):

visual property (an attribute of vision)

Domain category:

beaux arts; fine arts (the study and creation of visual works of art)

Hyponyms (each of the following is a kind of "texture"):

grain (the direction, texture, or pattern of fibers found in wood or leather or stone or in a woven fabric)

marbleisation; marbleising; marbleization; marbleizing (a texture like that of marble)

Sense 5

Meaning:

The physical composition of something (especially with respect to the size and shape of the small constituents of a substance)

Classified under:

Nouns denoting attributes of people and objects

Synonyms:

grain; texture

Context example:

a stone of coarse grain

Hypernyms ("texture" is a kind of...):

composition; constitution; make-up; makeup; physical composition (the way in which someone or something is composed)

 Context examples 

The pores of the skin are generally large and visible with a coarse or thick texture.

(Oily Skin, NCI Thesaurus)

The breast texture is characterized by multiple small areas of increased and decreased echogenicity.

(Heterogeneous Echotexture, NCI Thesaurus/DICOM)

I did so, and saw a large “E” with a small “g,” a “P,” and a large “G” with a small “t” woven into the texture of the paper.

(The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes, by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle)

Irregular or uneven in quality, texture, or distribution.

(Patchy, NCI Thesaurus)

The pores are generally fine with a papery thin texture that feels dry to the touch.

(Dry Skin, NCI Thesaurus)

Because of this combination of textures, the researchers refer to these unusual areas as "irregular mare patches."

(Evidence for Young Lunar Volcanism, NASA)

The skin texture is neither fine or thick and it neither feels dry or oily to the touch.

(Normal Skin, NCI Thesaurus)

A question about the difference in an individual's breast texture or hardening between the treated and untreated breast since treatment for breast cancer.

(Breast Texture Difference Since Cancer Treatment, NCI Thesaurus)

The Australian Shepherd is a medium-sized dog with a weather resistant coat of medium texture and moderate length.

(Australian Shepherd, NCI Thesaurus)

Regardless of surface texture, we can certainly see an irregular shaped world shining through.

(Rosetta Comet May Be a Contact Binary, NASA)