Definition of realismnext
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 Bonnie Elliott, the director of photography, has a great eye, and Christian is passionate about the show and deserves a lot of credit for balancing an art-house sensibility with the psychological and emotional realism of the story. — Jesse Whittock, Deadline, 20 Oct. 2026 Trump’s flexible realism also entails recognizing the need to form bespoke coalitions of the willing to augment the United Nations and other large multilateral institutions. — Charles Kupchan, Foreign Affairs, 19 Oct. 2026 Harris also helped shape the movie’s imagination sequences, pushing Pixar’s artists toward more spontaneous, painterly images rather than the studio’s usual meticulous realism. — Davide Abbatescianni, Variety, 16 Oct. 2026 The movie is of no aesthetic originality or distinction; it’s filmed, transparently, in scenes of straightforward dramatic realism, neither maintaining an individual character’s point of view nor evoking subjectivity. — Richard Brody, New Yorker, 15 Oct. 2026 See All Example Sentences for realism
Recent Examples of Synonyms for realism
Noun
  • For all the film’s naturalism, almost nothing in it was left to chance, not even the weather on the day of the climax.
    — Ophélie Surcouf, Variety, 10 Oct. 2026
  • Yana Radeva, shockingly a first-time actor, is quietly commanding as Veska, suggesting entire histories without spelling them out, while Grisebach’s documentary-like naturalism makes even the film’s strangest turns feel oddly plausible.
    — Taylor Antrim, Vogue, 19 Sep. 2026
Noun
  • As with the Yale-set After the Hunt, Guadagnino and the production designer Stefano Baisi grew obsessed with verisimilitude as an index of truth.
    — E. Alex Jung, Vulture, 2 Oct. 2026
  • That process of reconciliation takes precedence over the music, all of which is believable in its context (the verisimilitude of the The Behemoth!
    — David Ehrlich, IndieWire, 2 Oct. 2026

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“Realism.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/realism. Accessed 28 Oct. 2026.

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