verisimilitude

noun

veri·​si·​mil·​i·​tude ˌver-ə-sə-ˈmi-lə-ˌtüd 

-ˌtyüd

1

: the quality or state of being verisimilar

2

: something verisimilar

verisimilitudinous

ˌver-ə-sə-ˌmi-lə-ˈtüd-nəs 

-ˈtyüd-;

-ˈtü-də-nəs, 

-ˈtyü-

adjective

Did you know?

From its roots, verisimilitude means basically "similarity to the truth". Most fiction writers and filmmakers aim at some kind of verisimilitude to give their stories an air of reality. They need not show something actually true, or even very common, but simply something believable. A mass of good details in a play, novel, painting, or film may add verisimilitude. A spy novel without some verisimilitude won't interest many readers, but a fantastical novel may not even attempt to seem true to life.

Synonyms of verisimilitude

• realism

Examples of verisimilitude in a Sentence

the novel's degree of verisimilitude is compromised by 18th-century characters who speak in very 21st-century English

Recent Examples on the Web

However, its writing process involved putting the script in front of actual child therapists to ensure its verisimilitude, so rare are the moments (if any) when Wang’s performance doesn’t feel rooted in the familiar. —Siddhant Adlakha, Variety, 18 Mar. 2026

Designers of digital voice assistants do not strive to maximize verisimilitude in their products’ anthropomorphism. —Rafil Kroll-Zaidi, Harpers Magazine, 27 Jan. 2026

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

The verisimilitude rippled out to other departments. —David Canfield, HollywoodReporter, 7 Jan. 2026

Word History

Etymology

borrowed from Latin vērīsimilitūdō, from vērī similis, vērīsimilis "having the appearance of truth" + -tūdō, suffix of abstract nouns — more at verisimilar

First Known Use

circa 1576, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Rhymes for verisimilitude

• accrued
• allude
• collude
• conclude
• construed
• debuted
• delude
• elude
• endued
• ensued
• eschewed
• etude

Kids Definition

verisimilitude

noun

veri·​si·​mil·​i·​tude ˌver-ə-sə-ˈmil-ə-ˌt(y)üd 

: the appearance of being true or real