Definition of VERISIMILITUDE

Did You Know?

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

Working with veteran casting director Avy Kaufman, Layton made shrewd choices for the actors playing the quartet, and selecting gifted players who are not yet household names adds to the story's verisimilitude. — Kenneth Turan, latimes.com, "True-life heist story 'American Animals' is one of summer's freshest and most entertaining films," 31 May 2018 Like the Yakuza games, the degree of verisimilitude is something that the developers will have assumed that most players will appreciate. — Sam Byford, The Verge, "428: Shibuya Scramble is the best crime book you’ll ever read on your PS4," 12 Oct. 2018 From the specific color palettes and details of the crowns, cloaks, uniforms, and designs worn by the characters to the isiXhosa (one of South Africa's 11 official languages) the Wakandans spoke, gave the movie a healthy dose of verisimilitude. 7. — Nicole Blades, Good Housekeeping, "7 Reasons Why All Parents Should Take Their Kids to See "Black Panther"," 7 Mar. 2018 So how does Hey Ladies manage to pull off its hilarious, sometimes mortifying verisimilitude? — Ashley Fetters, The Cut, "The Strict, Subtle Rules of a Hey Ladies! Email," 1 May 2018 So certain aspects of verisimilitude are dispensed with, without making a big deal over it. — Glenn Kenny, New York Times, "Review: Joan of Arc Is a Young Headbanger in ‘Jeannette’," 12 Apr. 2018 But humorous superhero stories have a different kind of verisimilitude. — Noah Berlatsky, The Verge, "The best superhero stories admit that superheroes are ridiculous," 11 July 2018 From the specific color palettes and details of the crowns, cloaks, uniforms, and designs worn by the characters to the isiXhosa (one of South Africa's 11 official languages) the Wakandans spoke, gave the movie a healthy dose of verisimilitude. — Nicole Blades, Good Housekeeping, "7 Reasons Why All Parents Should Take Their Kids to See "Black Panther"," 7 Mar. 2018 Sonically, the songs thrived on dichotomies of loud/soft and pretty/grating; the effect was less to gild aggression with sweetness than to wring drama and verisimilitude from the feeling of internal conflict. — Spencer Kornhaber, The Atlantic, "What Linkin Park Gave to Pop Music," 25 June 2018

These example sentences are selected automatically from various online news sources to reflect current usage of the word 'verisimilitude.' Views expressed in the examples do not represent the opinion of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.