as in naturalism
realistic depiction in art and literature
using ordinary people as models, even when depicting the greatest of saints, Caravaggio brought an unforgiving realism to painting that was unprecedented
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Recent Examples of realism
Bringing cinematic control to robotic storytelling Earlier, Agibot’s LinkCraft introduced Timeline Orchestration, a feature developed to enhance performance realism.
—
Atharva Gosavi, Interesting Engineering, 28 Oct. 2025
In her books, Hoover is better known for delivering emotional catharsis than for fine-tuning the logic and realism of her plots.
—Katy Waldman, New Yorker, 24 Oct. 2025
Within the next decade, the enchanting imagism of silent film would be supplanted by the talkie’s emphasis on dialogue and narrative realism, upending the format and studios that had made Keaton a star of the Old Hollywood system.
—Erik Morse, Vogue, 23 Oct. 2025
His fashions stand on the edge of romanticism and realism, evoking a sense of familiarity and otherworldly at once.
—Sandra Salibian, Footwear News, 23 Oct. 2025
See All Example Sentences for realism
Atharva Gosavi, Interesting Engineering, 28 Oct. 2025
In her books, Hoover is better known for delivering emotional catharsis than for fine-tuning the logic and realism of her plots.
—Katy Waldman, New Yorker, 24 Oct. 2025
Within the next decade, the enchanting imagism of silent film would be supplanted by the talkie’s emphasis on dialogue and narrative realism, upending the format and studios that had made Keaton a star of the Old Hollywood system.
—Erik Morse, Vogue, 23 Oct. 2025
His fashions stand on the edge of romanticism and realism, evoking a sense of familiarity and otherworldly at once.
—Sandra Salibian, Footwear News, 23 Oct. 2025
See All Example Sentences for realism
Recent Examples of Synonyms for realism
Noun
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If Mercedes’ Marisol were less melodramatic and more in tune with the naturalism of her castmates, this could be a truly masterful staging.—
Rob Hubbard,
Twin Cities,
10 Oct. 2025
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But the film’s empathy is matter of fact, achieved in part through an almost documentarian naturalism.—
Carrie Battan,
Vulture,
6 Oct. 2025
Noun
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The earliest examples of fake blood, from red cloth to glycerol goo Some folks believe that the pre-modern cultures simply used actual blood in plays and tableaus, for maximum verisimilitude.—
Mark Hay,
Popular Science,
9 Oct. 2025
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The Cenobites, clearly inspired by leather and BDSM culture, are reimagined here as terrifyingly fashionable beings who feel truly alien — an aesthetic praised for its verisimilitude to Clive Barker’s original vision.—
Samantha Allen,
Them.,
7 Oct. 2025
Cite this Entry
“Realism.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/realism. Accessed 9 Nov. 2025.
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