variants
also naturalist
as in realistic
closely resembling the object imitated
the movie's volcanic eruption is so naturalistic that it's easy to forget that it all came out of a computer
Synonyms & Similar Words
Relevance
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
Example Sentences
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.
Recent Examples of naturalistic
The film’s heart is in its naturalistic lead performances.
—
Siddhant Adlakha, Variety, 17 Feb. 2026
Vegetation cannot grow taller than 1 foot without opening residents up to fines, but the Charlotte City Council on Monday unanimously voted to exempt naturalistic and pollinator gardens from penalty if they’re registered with the city.
—Nick Sullivan, Charlotte Observer, 10 Feb. 2026
This is either the milieu of an early-nineties sci-fi novel or something close to a naturalistic portrayal of contemporary San Francisco.
—Gideon Lewis-Kraus, New Yorker, 9 Feb. 2026
Much steel is going up and a great activity is going on in preparing the grounds with the proper naturalistic setting.
—Orlando Sentinel Staff, The Orlando Sentinel, 6 Feb. 2026
See All Example Sentences for naturalistic
Siddhant Adlakha, Variety, 17 Feb. 2026
Vegetation cannot grow taller than 1 foot without opening residents up to fines, but the Charlotte City Council on Monday unanimously voted to exempt naturalistic and pollinator gardens from penalty if they’re registered with the city.
—Nick Sullivan, Charlotte Observer, 10 Feb. 2026
This is either the milieu of an early-nineties sci-fi novel or something close to a naturalistic portrayal of contemporary San Francisco.
—Gideon Lewis-Kraus, New Yorker, 9 Feb. 2026
Much steel is going up and a great activity is going on in preparing the grounds with the proper naturalistic setting.
—Orlando Sentinel Staff, The Orlando Sentinel, 6 Feb. 2026
See All Example Sentences for naturalistic
Recent Examples of Synonyms for naturalistic
Adjective
-
Pelle Larsson added 20 points and a career-high 10 rebounds for Miami (40-36), which kept some realistic hope of getting out of the play-in tournament range — or at least getting into one of the top two spots and therefore assuring itself two chances of making the playoffs — alive with the win.—
CBS News,
CBS News,
31 Mar. 2026
-
Beneficiaries auto‑renewed without reviewing plan changes Many people were automatically re‑enrolled in plans that later cut benefits or raised costs, leaving March 31 as their last realistic chance to mitigate financial damage for 2026.—
Amanda Greenwood,
MSNBC Newsweek,
31 Mar. 2026
Adjective
-
Today, the shuttered community center is a modern co-living apartment boasting a theater and fitness space.—
Madeline King,
Chicago Tribune,
11 Mar. 2026
-
Now, scientists have created a highly efficient AI model that hints at how living brains are able to do so much with so little, a team reports in the journal Nature.—
Jon Hamilton,
NPR,
3 Mar. 2026
Adjective
-
The Singapore Botanical Gardens, a UNESCO World Heritage Site, and one of the world's great urban green spaces, inspired everything from the color palette (soft greens, aqua blues, natural wood tones) to the botanical motifs that appear in textiles and art throughout the property.—
Condé Nast,
Condé Nast Traveler,
1 Apr. 2026
-
Though no studies have shown adverse effects from aluminum deodorants, natural deodorants sold to health-conscious consumers are generally aluminum-free.—
BestReviews,
Chicago Tribune,
31 Mar. 2026
Adjective
-
The robot was created by the AI robotics company Figure, one of the top companies in the burgeoning AI subindustry racing to create lifelike robots.—
Bruna Horvath,
NBC news,
25 Mar. 2026
-
In barely three years, AI has gone from a novelty that could write passable college essays to a technology that can generate lifelike video, clone human voices, and write software code so effectively that people with no programming experience are building apps on their own.—
Andrew Rasiej,
New York Daily News,
22 Mar. 2026
Adjective
-
Shadow boxes have three-dimensional depth and are typically combined with other memorabilia to display alongside the jersey.—
BestReviews,
Mercury News,
30 Mar. 2026
-
Advancements in understanding black holes build on holography, the idea that the two-dimensional surface of the black hole somehow captures everything about the three-dimensional space inside it.—
Shalma Wegsman,
Quanta Magazine,
30 Mar. 2026
Cite this Entry
“Naturalistic.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/naturalistic. Accessed 1 Apr. 2026.
Copy CitationLove words? Need even more definitions?
Merriam-Webster unabridged
