lit·er·al·ism | \ ˈli-t(ə-)rə-ˌli-zəm 
\
\Definition of literalism
1 : adherence to the explicit substance of an idea or expression
biblical literalism
2 : fidelity to observable fact : realism
Keep scrolling for more
Other Words from literalism
literalist \ ˈli-t(ə-)rə-list \ noun
\ nounliteralistic \ ˌli-t(ə-)rə-ˈli-stik \ adjective
\ adjective
Examples of literalism in a Sentence
if audiences ever got the literalism they claim they want in movies, they'd be fast asleep by the second reel
Recent Examples on the Web Barrett has condemned as a canard the widespread view that textualism is literalism.
—
Ed Whelan, National Review, "Justice Barrett Would Extend Scalia’s Legacy," 1 Oct. 2020 Christian fundamentalism goes beyond religious conservatism, as fundamentalism is a radical conception of faith rooted in Biblical literalism.
—
Mugambi Jouet, The New Republic, "The Trump Cult Is Loyal to an Ideology, Not the Man," 26 June 2020 As theologists, philosophers, explorers, and mapmakers debated what might lie at the planet’s very top, a picture emerged rooted in mythology, astrology and biblical literalism.
—
David James, Anchorage Daily News, "In ‘North Pole: Nature and Culture,’ grappling with a place beyond time and measure," 3 Aug. 2019 Yet even when the pain of censorship and social death surfaces with such violent literalism, nothing comes of it.
—
Merve Emre, The New York Review of Books, "‘Dismembered, Relocated, Rearranged’," 6 June 2019 Or are the critics making that argument engaged in an absurd form of literalism, refusing to recognize ironic discourse even though it’s been repeatedly pointed out to them?
—
Ezra Klein, Vox, "The problem with Twitter, as shown by the Sarah Jeong fracas," 8 Aug. 2018 Beyond the biblical literalism of allied evangelicals, newly sophisticated ways of attacking environmental sciences arose that appealed to doubt and uncertainty, coins of the scientific realm itself.
—
Christopher Sellers, Vox, "How Republicans came to embrace anti-environmentalism," 6 July 2018 The big- city journalists reported that Darrow had revealed Bryan’s ignorance and the absurdity of his biblical literalism.
—
Time Staff, Time, "The 25 Moments From American History That Matter Right Now," 28 June 2018 At that point, the allusions Aster has so tantalizingly built up disintegrate into graphic gore and on-the-nose literalism.
—
Ann Hornaday, kansascity, "In terrifying ‘Hereditary,’ past horrors haunt a dysfunctional family," 7 June 2018
See MoreThese example sentences are selected automatically from various online news sources to reflect current usage of the word 'literalism.' Views expressed in the examples do not represent the opinion of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
Keep scrolling for more
Comments on literalism
What made you want to look up literalism? Please tell us where you read or heard it (including the quote, if possible).
Test Your Vocabulary
Musical Words Quiz
- Which word describes a musical performance marked by the absence of instrumental accompaniment?
Can you spell these 10 commonly misspelled words?
TAKE THE QUIZ
Test Your Knowledge - and learn some interesting things along the way.
TAKE THE QUIZLove words? Need even more definitions?
Merriam-Webster unabridgedWords at Play
Ask the Editors
Share literalism
Time Traveler for literalism
The first known use of literalism was in 1644
See more words from the same year