ˈmanəˌrizəm noun
( -s )
Etymology: manner (I) + -ism
1.
a. : exaggerated or affected emulation of or adherence to a particular style or manner : stilted or artificial quality : artificiality , preciosity
refined almost to the point of mannerism — Winthrop Sargeant
avoids all tiresome mannerism — Gouverneur Paulding
an almost unrelieved mannerism and melancholy have taken hold of mid-century poetry — Louise Bogan
b. often capitalized : an art style in late 16th century Europe characterized by spatial incongruity and excessive elongation of the human figures
2. : a characteristic mode or peculiarity of action, bearing, or treatment
each of us has his own mannerisms in sleeping — Geoffrey Jefferson
free of mannerisms copied from the great — David Sylvester
some of the birds' curious customs and mannerisms — E.A.Armstrong