as in realism
realistic depiction in art and literature
if audiences ever got the literalism they claim they want in movies, they'd be fast asleep by the second reel
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Recent Examples of literalism
Gilmour’s set, that pile of versatile luggage, has the right idea of allowing us in the audience to imagine the magical city the show’s characters keep describing without ruining it with the literalism of giant 30 Rockefeller Plaza set pieces or, worse, a huge screen.
—
Jackson McHenry, Vulture, 20 Nov. 2025
This literalism extends across the entire picture.
—Sam Bodrojan, IndieWire, 5 Sep. 2025
By the 1920s, the rise of religious fundamentalism and Biblical literalism among evangelical Protestant groups was reshaping America's religious landscape — setting it on a collision course with modern scientific thought.
—Nell Greenfieldboyce, NPR, 8 July 2025
But, in its literalism, the essay struggles to transcend the form.
—Anna Wiener, New Yorker, 9 Apr. 2025
See All Example Sentences for literalism
Jackson McHenry, Vulture, 20 Nov. 2025
This literalism extends across the entire picture.
—Sam Bodrojan, IndieWire, 5 Sep. 2025
By the 1920s, the rise of religious fundamentalism and Biblical literalism among evangelical Protestant groups was reshaping America's religious landscape — setting it on a collision course with modern scientific thought.
—Nell Greenfieldboyce, NPR, 8 July 2025
But, in its literalism, the essay struggles to transcend the form.
—Anna Wiener, New Yorker, 9 Apr. 2025
See All Example Sentences for literalism
Recent Examples of Synonyms for literalism
Noun
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Tuason didn’t just want to use that power for realism, but for demonic evil.—
Sarah Shachat,
IndieWire,
14 Mar. 2026
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The filmmaker, known for marrying smart social commentary with weirdly believable magical realism, appears to be doubling down on what’s working for him.—
Mikey O'Connell,
HollywoodReporter,
13 Mar. 2026
Noun
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La Tour was born in Lorraine, a duchy of the Holy Roman Empire, in 1593, twenty-one years after Caravaggio, whose sensational combination of naturalism and theater, light and dark, formed him as a painter.—
Nicole Krauss,
Harpers Magazine,
24 Feb. 2026
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But the film’s empathy is matter of fact, achieved in part through an almost documentarian naturalism.—
Savannah Salazar,
Vulture,
20 Feb. 2026
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Literally
A word that (literally) drives people nuts
Cite this Entry
“Literalism.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/literalism. Accessed 20 Mar. 2026.
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