retouch

1 of 2

verb

re·​touch (ˌ)rē-ˈtəch How to pronounce retouch (audio)
retouched; retouching; retouches

transitive verb

1
: to rework in order to improve : touch up
2
: to alter (something, such as a photographic negative) to produce a more desirable appearance
3
: to color (new growth of hair) to match previously dyed, tinted, or bleached hair

intransitive verb

: to make or give retouches
retoucher noun

retouch

2 of 2

noun

re·​touch ˈrē-ˌtəch How to pronounce retouch (audio)
(ˌ)rē-ˈtəch
: the act or process or an instance of retouching
especially : the retouching of a new growth of hair

Examples of retouch in a Sentence

Verb The photo had been retouched to remove the wrinkles around his eyes.
Recent Examples on the Web
Verb
Francis would have known that, for more than a century before he was born, in 1937, photographic technique — lighting and exposure, in the studio, and then developing and printing and even retouching, in the darkroom — had deliberately been used to lighten Black complexions, and negate them. Blake Gopnik, New York Times, 22 Feb. 2024 With Luminar's photo-editing software, which won the Red Dot Award for Interface Design, photographers can retouch skin, change the direction of a light source, and remove objects from a photo, all with a few clicks thanks to AI assistance. Stackcommerce Team, PCMAG, 26 Jan. 2024 One of her first assignments was to help retouch and digitize thousands of images of 9/11 victims, known internally by the bloodless code name PENTTBOM. Dan Piepenbring, Harper's Magazine, 9 Jan. 2024 Today, everyone understands photos or videos shared could have been edited or retouched, with color changes, blemishes removed and proportions edited. Zeev Farbman, Forbes, 29 Nov. 2023 The film’s unique look raises similar questions of how humans and algorithms work together, suggesting that animators took what the computer rendered and then retouched every frame by hand. Peter Debruge, Variety, 27 July 2023 Some celebs have been called out for retouching their images on social media, while others have criticized the use of filters and apps, creating a stigma around altering your appearance. Madison Werner, Glamour, 20 June 2023 He was hired in 1959 by A.V. Roe & Company in Toronto to retouch photos of pots and pans for its catalogs. William Grimes, New York Times, 5 May 2023 Images can be retouched, stories recast. Kate Kelly, New York Times, 26 Mar. 2023
Noun
Color retouch costs range between $65 and $70 and bayalage or ombre are $150 and up. Ana Rocío Álvarez Bríñez, The Courier-Journal, 8 Apr. 2023 That's why Moore suggests going into the salon for a root retouch every four to eight weeks to maintain color vibrancy. Amina Ayoud, Allure, 23 Mar. 2022 The painting has undergone many retouches and restorations in the past and some of the later additions are starting to fade. Aleksandar Furtula, BostonGlobe.com, 8 July 2019 Advertising everything from auto shops and grocers to bars and chapels, Carey's work started from a simple commercial core (NextCity profiled him in 2017, noting Carey would even offer retouches to businesses for $10 or $15). Nathan Mattise, Ars Technica, 23 Nov. 2018 To start, Sheriff used Rihanna’s Fenty Beauty Pro Filt’r instant retouch primer. Ashley Weatherford, The Cut, 4 Mar. 2018

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

Word History

Etymology

Verb

French retoucher, from Middle French, from re- + toucher to touch

First Known Use

Verb

circa 1650, in the meaning defined at transitive sense 1

Noun

1703, in the meaning defined above

Time Traveler
The first known use of retouch was circa 1650

Dictionary Entries Near retouch

Cite this Entry

“Retouch.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/retouch. Accessed 19 Mar. 2024.

Kids Definition

retouch

verb
re·​touch
(ˈ)rē-ˈtəch
: touch up
especially : to change (as a photographic negative) in order to produce a more desirable appearance
retouch
ˈrē-ˌtəch
(ˈ)rē-ˈtəch
noun
retoucher
(ˈ)rē-ˈtəch-ər
noun

More from Merriam-Webster on retouch

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