silhouette

Plural: silhouettes

Noun

• an outline of a solid object (as cast by its shadow)
• a drawing of the outline of an object; filled in with some uniform color
• An illustrated outline filled in with a solid color(s), usually only black, and intended to represent the shape of an object without revealing any other visual details; a similar appearance produced when the object being viewed is situated in relative darkness with brighter lighting behind it; a profile portrait in black, such as a shadow appears to be.
• The outline of a garment as it appears on the wearer.

Verb

• project on a background, such as a screen, like a silhouette
• represent by a silhouette
• To represent by a silhouette; to project upon a background, so as to be like a silhouette.

Examples

• A-line is a classic silhouette for dresses and skirts.
• I could see a silhouette of a figure looking out from the window, but I couldn't tell if it was a man or a woman.