noun
adding the finishing touches to a painting; dotting the eyes (of a painted animal)
Refers specifically to the final, vital touches that bring a painting to life, especially adding eyes. Almost exclusively used in the idiom 画竜点睛 (がりょうてんせい) or the derived phrase 点睛を欠く (てんせいをかく), meaning 'to lack the finishing touch'.
「画竜点睛」とは、最後の大切な仕上げのことを指す。
画竜点睛 refers to the crucial final touch that completes a work.
彼の論文は内容は良いが、結論が不十分で点睛を欠いている。
His paper has good content, but the conclusion is insufficient and lacks the finishing touch.
From Chinese 點睛／点睛 (diǎnjīng), literally 'dot the eye'. The word is best known through the classical story of a painter who added eyes to a dragon painting, causing it to come to life and fly away.