Thesaurus results for REALISM

realism

noun

ˈrē-ə-ˌli-zəm

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

Synonyms & Similar Words

Relevance

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 realism Beyond the text of the film, its production reflected that same ambition, with car chases shot on city streets without permits to achieve the realism for which the film is celebrated. —

Paul Fitzgerald, Rolling Stone, 3 Mar. 2026 This illusion of realism will only become more convincing as the technology evolves. —

Tim Brinkhof, Big Think, 3 Mar. 2026 But realism is beside the point. —

Alan Bradley, Space.com, 2 Mar. 2026 Mental health outreach reflects realism about what fear and neglect cost when ignored. —

Scott Levenson, New York Daily News, 1 Mar. 2026 See All Example Sentences for realism

Recent Examples of Synonyms for realism

Noun

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
But the film’s empathy is matter of fact, achieved in part through an almost documentarian naturalism.

— Savannah Salazar, Vulture, 20 Feb. 2026