verisimilitude
noun
veri·si·mil·i·tude
ˌver-ə-sə-ˈmi-lə-ˌtüd 
-ˌtyüd
1
: the quality or state of being verisimilar
2
: something verisimilar
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From its roots, verisimilitude means basically "similarity to the truth". Most fiction writers and filmmakers aim at some kind of verisimilitude to give their stories an air of reality. They need not show something actually true, or even very common, but simply something believable. A mass of good details in a play, novel, painting, or film may add verisimilitude. A spy novel without some verisimilitude won't interest many readers, but a fantastical novel may not even attempt to seem true to life.
Examples of verisimilitude in a Sentence
the novel's degree of verisimilitude is compromised by 18th-century characters who speak in very 21st-century English
Recent Examples on the Web
Like a film or a novel, architectural restoration manipulates time, reversing, stopping, and tricking it, all in pursuit of verisimilitude.
—
Justin Davidson, Curbed, 10 July 2025
And like that Tom Cruise sequel, F1 plays up the fact that authenticity, verisimilitude and a you-are-there-feeling can often make the difference between a fun afternoon at the moving pictures and an immersive adrenaline rush.
—David Fear, Rolling Stone, 17 June 2025
This is at odds with the verisimilitude of the natural voices and saps the show of dramatic tension.
—Elisabeth Vincentelli, New York Times, 20 May 2025
What Vuong seems to mean is that such Proustian details are unexpected but nevertheless distinctive; their unprompted specificity gives the story a verisimilitude.
—Andrea Long Chu, Vulture, 6 May 2025
See All Example Sentences for verisimilitude
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Justin Davidson, Curbed, 10 July 2025
And like that Tom Cruise sequel, F1 plays up the fact that authenticity, verisimilitude and a you-are-there-feeling can often make the difference between a fun afternoon at the moving pictures and an immersive adrenaline rush.
—David Fear, Rolling Stone, 17 June 2025
This is at odds with the verisimilitude of the natural voices and saps the show of dramatic tension.
—Elisabeth Vincentelli, New York Times, 20 May 2025
What Vuong seems to mean is that such Proustian details are unexpected but nevertheless distinctive; their unprompted specificity gives the story a verisimilitude.
—Andrea Long Chu, Vulture, 6 May 2025
See All Example Sentences for verisimilitude
Cite this Entry
“Verisimilitude.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/verisimilitude. Accessed 24 Jul. 2025.
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verisimilitude
noun
veri·si·mil·i·tude
ˌver-ə-sə-ˈmil-ə-ˌt(y)üd
: the appearance of being true or real
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