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
Throughout his career, Landreth has played with real world physics and proportions to bring forth a form of psychological realism and truth.
—
Kevin Giraud, Variety, 14 Feb. 2026
The Upper Division is choosing realism and responsibility.
—Christa Swanson, CBS News, 14 Feb. 2026
Critics often dismiss forums like Davos as talk shops and view Munich as a grim exercise in security realism.
—Alan H.h. Fleischmann, Time, 13 Feb. 2026
There’s a tension, too, between the observant realism of Layton’s style and the derivativeness of the plotting, though the three leads, all superb, smooth it over with considerable skill.
—Justin Chang, New Yorker, 13 Feb. 2026
See All Example Sentences for realism
Kevin Giraud, Variety, 14 Feb. 2026
The Upper Division is choosing realism and responsibility.
—Christa Swanson, CBS News, 14 Feb. 2026
Critics often dismiss forums like Davos as talk shops and view Munich as a grim exercise in security realism.
—Alan H.h. Fleischmann, Time, 13 Feb. 2026
There’s a tension, too, between the observant realism of Layton’s style and the derivativeness of the plotting, though the three leads, all superb, smooth it over with considerable skill.
—Justin Chang, New Yorker, 13 Feb. 2026
See All Example Sentences for realism
Recent Examples of Synonyms for realism
Noun
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The vivid naturalism achieved in these works was not seen for another millennium, and is often more credited to artists living during the late Middle Ages, including Cimabue and Giotto, who laid the groundwork for the Renaissance.—
Jacqui Palumbo,
CNN Money,
31 Jan. 2026
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By filtering the grammar of naturalism through a fine mesh strainer until all that remains are skeletal forms and eerie compositional croppings, Schjerfbeck forces your eye toward an occluded or trivial detail.—
Zachary Fine,
New Yorker,
19 Jan. 2026
Noun
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Designers of digital voice assistants do not strive to maximize verisimilitude in their products’ anthropomorphism.—
Rafil Kroll-Zaidi,
Harpers Magazine,
27 Jan. 2026
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Her designs for the Safdies, as well as her prolific Instagram cataloguing of clothes worn by regular people on the street, have earned her a reputation as a doyenne of verisimilitude.—
Victoria Uren,
New Yorker,
12 Jan. 2026
Cite this Entry
“Realism.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/realism. Accessed 18 Feb. 2026.
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