as in realism
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Recent Examples of photo-realism
Video game graphics have been defined by technical limitations ever since the invention of the art form, with photorealism only becoming possible within the last decade.
—
Dani Di Placido, Forbes.com, 7 May 2026
Many of these images were highly persuasive, complete with fully legible text, shading, and other visual props that increased their photorealism.
—Lila Shroff, The Atlantic, 2 May 2026
The same was true of trees, water, a medieval castle, the interior of Hogwarts School, and even an espresso machine: DLSS 5 added a new level of photorealism that traditional game rendering had struggled to achieve.
—Michael Kan, PC Magazine, 31 Mar. 2026
Aside from the out-there storylines, these movies look nothing like Studio Ghibli or the photorealism of a Disney/Pixar film.
—Scott Roxborough, HollywoodReporter, 15 Jan. 2026
By eschewing dull photorealism for highly detailed and otherworldly vistas that are even more saturated than their movie counterparts, Massive's work on Frontiers of Pandora is transportive on a level that few (if any) big-budget video game productions have been able to capture.
—Fran Ruiz, Space.com, 19 Dec. 2025
Then the animators could take over and finish the rest with their skillful photorealism.
—Bill Desowitz, IndieWire, 18 Apr. 2025
In the same way that VR gaming has been detrimentally entwined with the pursuit of photorealism, VR gaming has been co-opted by these hardcore values that ultimately limit the medium.
—Marcus Carter, IEEE Spectrum, 10 Sep. 2024
Dani Di Placido, Forbes.com, 7 May 2026
Many of these images were highly persuasive, complete with fully legible text, shading, and other visual props that increased their photorealism.
—Lila Shroff, The Atlantic, 2 May 2026
The same was true of trees, water, a medieval castle, the interior of Hogwarts School, and even an espresso machine: DLSS 5 added a new level of photorealism that traditional game rendering had struggled to achieve.
—Michael Kan, PC Magazine, 31 Mar. 2026
Aside from the out-there storylines, these movies look nothing like Studio Ghibli or the photorealism of a Disney/Pixar film.
—Scott Roxborough, HollywoodReporter, 15 Jan. 2026
By eschewing dull photorealism for highly detailed and otherworldly vistas that are even more saturated than their movie counterparts, Massive's work on Frontiers of Pandora is transportive on a level that few (if any) big-budget video game productions have been able to capture.
—Fran Ruiz, Space.com, 19 Dec. 2025
Then the animators could take over and finish the rest with their skillful photorealism.
—Bill Desowitz, IndieWire, 18 Apr. 2025
In the same way that VR gaming has been detrimentally entwined with the pursuit of photorealism, VR gaming has been co-opted by these hardcore values that ultimately limit the medium.
—Marcus Carter, IEEE Spectrum, 10 Sep. 2024
Recent Examples of Synonyms for photo-realism
Noun
-
King Arthur, the Bible – that’s magical realism, too.—
Marta Balaga,
Variety,
14 June 2026
-
Apple Vision Pro can turn panoramas into spatial scenes with depth and realism.—
Kurt Knutsson,
FOXNews.com,
11 June 2026
Noun
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Their outsize presence in mythological paintings is of course not a question of reality—of naturalism—at all.—
Literary Hub,
Literary Hub,
10 June 2026
-
Nilsson’s depiction of bodies past their prime conjures not the pitiless naturalism of Joan Semmel or Alice Neel, but something friskier, more delighted.—
Jeremy Lybarger,
Artforum,
2 June 2026
Noun
-
This is a frankly majestic imagining of 16th-century feudal Japan filled with paddy fields, winding valleys, windswept plains, and teeming towns all knitted together into a virtual tapestry of striking geographic verisimilitude.—
Lewis Gordon,
Vulture,
3 Dec. 2025
-
For Greengrass, this is a technique to generate even greater verisimilitude.—
Andy Hazel,
IndieWire,
8 Sep. 2025
Cite this Entry
“Photo-realism.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/photo-realism. Accessed 18 Jun. 2026.
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