as in naturalism
realistic depiction in art and literature
using ordinary people as models, even when depicting the greatest of saints, Caravaggio brought an unforgiving realism to painting that was unprecedented
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Recent Examples of realism
Staples, once again, stars as a heightened version of himself, bringing his signature dry wit and unflinching realism to the screen.
—
Preezy Brown, VIBE.com, 9 Oct. 2025
However, not everyone is aiming for gold-standard realism in their blood.
—Mark Hay, Popular Science, 9 Oct. 2025
The display’s realism has caught the attention of the Fountain Hill Fire Department, prompting multiple emergency calls from unaware concerned people.
—David Chiu, PEOPLE, 9 Oct. 2025
Engineers, soldiers, and civilians all wore different variations, complete with modular life-support backpacks, exoskeletal plating, and transparent domed helmets that reveal the actors’ faces while maintaining a sense of airtight realism.
—Kaif Shaikh, Interesting Engineering, 8 Oct. 2025
See All Example Sentences for realism
Preezy Brown, VIBE.com, 9 Oct. 2025
However, not everyone is aiming for gold-standard realism in their blood.
—Mark Hay, Popular Science, 9 Oct. 2025
The display’s realism has caught the attention of the Fountain Hill Fire Department, prompting multiple emergency calls from unaware concerned people.
—David Chiu, PEOPLE, 9 Oct. 2025
Engineers, soldiers, and civilians all wore different variations, complete with modular life-support backpacks, exoskeletal plating, and transparent domed helmets that reveal the actors’ faces while maintaining a sense of airtight realism.
—Kaif Shaikh, Interesting Engineering, 8 Oct. 2025
See All Example Sentences for realism
Recent Examples of Synonyms for realism
Noun
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If Mercedes’ Marisol were less melodramatic and more in tune with the naturalism of her castmates, this could be a truly masterful staging.—
Rob Hubbard,
Twin Cities,
10 Oct. 2025
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But the film’s empathy is matter of fact, achieved in part through an almost documentarian naturalism.—
Carrie Battan,
Vulture,
6 Oct. 2025
Noun
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The Cenobites, clearly inspired by leather and BDSM culture, are reimagined here as terrifyingly fashionable beings who feel truly alien — an aesthetic praised for its verisimilitude to Clive Barker’s original vision.—
Samantha Allen,
Them.,
7 Oct. 2025
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To enhance the verisimilitude of his wraparound segment, Cheel augments the fictional story of alien-contact footage discovered at a yard sale with nonfiction asides about UFO culture.—
A.A. Dowd,
Vulture,
3 Oct. 2025
Cite this Entry
“Realism.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/realism. Accessed 21 Oct. 2025.
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