[man.ner.ism] n (1803) 1 a: exaggerated or affected adherence to a particular style or manner: artificiality, preciosity "refined almost to the point of ~ --Winthrop Sargeant" b often cap: an art style in late 16th century Europe characterized by spatial incongruity and excessive elongation of the human figures
2: a characteristic and often unconscious mode or peculiarity of action, bearing, or treatment syn see pose -- man.ner.ist n -- man.ner.is.tic adj