literalism

American  

[lit-er-uh-liz-uhm] / ˈlɪt ər əˌlɪz əm /

noun

1. adherence to the exact letter or the literal sense, as in translation or interpretation.

   to interpret the law with uncompromising literalism.

2. a peculiarity of expression resulting from this.

   The work is studded with these obtuse literalisms.

3. exact representation or portrayal, without idealization, as in art or literature.

   a literalism more appropriate to journalism than to the novel.

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literalism British  

/ ˈlɪtərəˌlɪzəm /

noun

1. the disposition to take words and statements in their literal sense

2. literal or realistic portrayal in art or literature

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Other Word Forms

Derived Forms

• literalistically
  adverb
• literalist
  noun
• literalistic
  adjective

Etymology

Origin of literalism

First recorded in 1635–45; literal + -ism

Example Sentences

This isn’t the kind of puzzle thriller in which all the elements click into place with a thudding literalism that compliments an attentive eye.

From Los Angeles Times • Mar. 21, 2025

Together, the films also prove that literalism isn’t always required in stories that impart messy truths about humanity.

From New York Times • Jan. 26, 2024

Through his studies at mosques and madrasas across the Muslim world, Ibn Tumart had developed a broader outlook than Ibn Yasin, and Ibn Tumart’s cosmopolitan approach challenged Ibn Yasin’s scriptural literalism.

From Textbooks • Apr. 19, 2023

Schrader films “She Said” with a bracing combination of straightforwardness and sensitivity, staging the most prurient details of Weinstein’s cases with somber restraint rather than salacious literalism.

From Washington Post • Nov. 16, 2022

But you wouldn't know all this if you went by the sound of his name—which I did, an immigrant's failing, literalism.

From "How the García Girls Lost Their Accents" by Julia Alvarez