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
Key to the New Wave were two elements: modernist narrative structures influenced by European cinema and a focus on social issues, informed by socialist realism and leftist ideologies.
—
Ali Farahmand, IndieWire, 23 May 2025
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
The changes represent the starkest shift since the 1930s, when the Soviet Union, under Joseph Stalin, adopted socialist realism as its official cultural doctrine — requiring artists to depict and promote Marxist-Leninist ideals in every form of their work.
—Mary Ilyushina, Washington Post, 29 July 2024
As per the genre conventions of socialist realism, Thea and Li seize the means of dough production, each taking command of a dumpling factory to pump out their own national variant for a taste-testing contest.
—Jennifer Wilson, The New Yorker, 3 Mar. 2024
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
Indeed, Kundera was a poet—not a novelist—at this time, and composed three collections over the course of the decade: Man: A Wide Garden (1953), The Last May (1955), and Monologues (1957), all written in the style of panegyric socialist realism.
—Jared Marcel Pollen, The New Republic, 12 July 2023
Rodchenko’s diminution illustrates the Soviet tragedy of formal and visionary genius that was ground underfoot even before the inception, in 1928, of Stalin’s ruinous first Five Year Plan, and of the coerced visual banalities of socialist realism.
—Peter Schjeldahl, The New Yorker, 21 Dec. 2020
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
Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to
show current usage.
Read More
Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors.
Send us feedback.
Ali Farahmand, IndieWire, 23 May 2025
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
The changes represent the starkest shift since the 1930s, when the Soviet Union, under Joseph Stalin, adopted socialist realism as its official cultural doctrine — requiring artists to depict and promote Marxist-Leninist ideals in every form of their work.
—Mary Ilyushina, Washington Post, 29 July 2024
As per the genre conventions of socialist realism, Thea and Li seize the means of dough production, each taking command of a dumpling factory to pump out their own national variant for a taste-testing contest.
—Jennifer Wilson, The New Yorker, 3 Mar. 2024
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
Indeed, Kundera was a poet—not a novelist—at this time, and composed three collections over the course of the decade: Man: A Wide Garden (1953), The Last May (1955), and Monologues (1957), all written in the style of panegyric socialist realism.
—Jared Marcel Pollen, The New Republic, 12 July 2023
Rodchenko’s diminution illustrates the Soviet tragedy of formal and visionary genius that was ground underfoot even before the inception, in 1928, of Stalin’s ruinous first Five Year Plan, and of the coerced visual banalities of socialist realism.
—Peter Schjeldahl, The New Yorker, 21 Dec. 2020
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 26 Jul. 2025.
Copy CitationLove words? Need even more definitions?
Merriam-Webster unabridged
Share