naturalistic

adjective

nat·​u·​ral·​is·​tic ˌna-ch(ə-)rə-ˈli-stik 

variants or less commonly naturalist

ˈna-ch(ə-)rə-list 

: of, characterized by, or according with naturalism

naturalistically

ˌna-ch(ə-)rə-ˈli-sti-k(ə-)lē 

adverb

Synonyms of naturalistic

• realistic
• living
• natural
• lifelike
• three-dimensional

Examples of naturalistic in a Sentence

The zoo strives to create naturalistic settings for the animals.

the movie's volcanic eruption is so naturalistic that it's easy to forget that it all came out of a computer

Recent Examples on the Web

Linklater used Dazed and Confused to continue developing his signature style — as seen in his first feature, Slacker (1990) — for making naturalistic movies crammed with contemporary dialogue, some of which was improvised by his cast. —Lia Beck, Entertainment Weekly, 30 Dec. 2025

While everyday devices bombard us with notifications, calm technology defaults to the minimum necessary notifications and more naturalistic design. —Gwendolyn Rak, IEEE Spectrum, 27 Dec. 2025

There’s a direct line of descent from the naturalistic theatre which leads you straight down to the dregs of bad theatre, bad thinking, and bad feeling. —Christine Baranski, Vogue, 5 Dec. 2025

Zack King is a standout with his likable, naturalistic performance as Leo, the smartest, most mature and selfless member of the friend group. —Pam Kragen, San Diego Union-Tribune, 26 Nov. 2025

Word History

First Known Use

1838, in the meaning defined above

Rhymes for naturalistic

• anachronistic
• animalistic
• antagonistic
• antiphlogistic
• behavioristic
• cannibalistic
• capitalistic
• characteristic
• collectivistic
• deterministic
• ethnolinguistic
• expressionistic