socialist realism
noun
: a Marxist aesthetic theory calling for the didactic use of literature, art, and music to develop social consciousness in an evolving socialist state
socialist realist
noun or adjective
Examples of socialist realism in a Sentence
Recent Examples on the Web
The McCarthyist Red Scare recast the socially conscious and figurative art of the 1930s in the light of Soviet socialist realism.
—
John P. Murphy,
ARTnews.com,
5 Apr. 2026
Stalin willed into being socialist realism, a hagiographic style that crept into art forms like music and painting.
—
Joshua Yaffa,
The New Yorker,
13 Mar. 2025
Rubinstein was a founder of Russian conceptualism, a pie-in-your-face response to the socialist realism favored by the Soviet regime.
—
Nr Editors,
National Review,
26 Jan. 2024
More intriguing is that the artist didn’t quite abandon socialist realism, the official style she was taught at Beijing’s Central Academy of the Arts.
—
Washington Post,
6 Oct. 2021
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John P. Murphy,
ARTnews.com,
5 Apr. 2026
Stalin willed into being socialist realism, a hagiographic style that crept into art forms like music and painting.
—
Joshua Yaffa,
The New Yorker,
13 Mar. 2025
Rubinstein was a founder of Russian conceptualism, a pie-in-your-face response to the socialist realism favored by the Soviet regime.
—
Nr Editors,
National Review,
26 Jan. 2024
More intriguing is that the artist didn’t quite abandon socialist realism, the official style she was taught at Beijing’s Central Academy of the Arts.
—
Washington Post,
6 Oct. 2021
Cite this Entry
“Socialist realism.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/socialist%20realism. Accessed 3 Jul. 2026.
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