paint with a broad brush

English

Pronunciation

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Verb

paint with a broad brush (third-person singular simple present paints with a broad brush, present participle painting with a broad brush, simple past and past participle painted with a broad brush)

1. (idiomatic, transitive, intransitive) To describe a class of objects or a kind of phenomenon in general terms, without specific details and without attention to individual variations.
   • 1958, H. Boyle, J. House, “Folklore in the News: Businessmen's Bebop”, in Western Folklore, volume 17, number 1, page 63:

     I'm just painting with a broad brush. You fellows fill in the details.

   • 1981, D. N., “Review of Global Signposts to the 21st Century by John A. Loraine”, in Population and Development Review, volume 7, number 2, page 363:

     To cover this range of issues is clearly to paint with a broad brush on a global canvas.

   • 1998 October 5, Ron Stodghill, “Daring To Go There”, in Time:

     Painting slavery with a broad brush in literature, film and even political debate has kept us from knowing the real horror and heroism of the institution.

Related terms

• broad-brush