Hypertext Webster Gateway: "mannerism"
From Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary (1913) (web1913)
Mannerism \Man"ner*ism\, n. [Cf. F. mani['e]risme.]
Adherence to a peculiar style or manner; a characteristic
mode of action, bearing, or treatment, carried to excess,
especially in literature or art.
Mannerism is pardonable,and is sometimes even
agreeable, when the manner, though vicious, is natural
. . . . But a mannerism which does not sit easy on the
mannerist, which has been adopted on principle, and
which can be sustained only by constant effort, is
always offensive. --Macaulay.
From WordNet (r) 1.7 (wn)
mannerism
n 1: an behavioral attribute that is distinctive and peculiar to
an individual [syn: {idiosyncrasy}, {foible}]
2: a deliberate pretense or exaggerated display [syn: {affectation},
{pose}]
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