realism

American  

[ree-uh-liz-uhm] / ˈri əˌlɪz əm /

noun

1. interest in or concern for the actual or real, as distinguished from the abstract, speculative, etc.

2. the tendency to view or represent things as they really are.

3. Fine Arts.

   1. treatment of forms, colors, space, etc., in such a manner as to emphasize their correspondence to actuality or to ordinary visual experience.

   2. (usually initial capital letter) a style of painting and sculpture developed about the mid-19th century in which figures and scenes are depicted as they are experienced or might be experienced in everyday life.

4. Literature.

   1. a manner of treating subject matter that presents a careful description of everyday life, usually of the lower and middle classes.

   2. a theory of writing in which the ordinary, familiar, or mundane aspects of life are represented in a straightforward or matter-of-fact manner that is presumed to reflect life as it actually is.

5. Philosophy.

   1. the doctrine that universals have a real objective existence.

   2. the doctrine that objects of sense perception have an existence independent of the act of perception.

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realism British  

/ ˈrɪəˌlɪzəm /

noun

1. awareness or acceptance of the physical universe, events, etc, as they are, as opposed to the abstract or ideal

2. awareness or acceptance of the facts and necessities of life; a practical rather than a moral or dogmatic view of things

3. a style of painting and sculpture that seeks to represent the familiar or typical in real life, rather than an idealized, formalized, or romantic interpretation of it

4. any similar school or style in other arts, esp literature

5. philosophy the thesis that general terms such as common nouns refer to entities that have a real existence separate from the individuals which fall under them See also universal Compare Platonism nominalism conceptualism naive realism

6. philosophy the theory that physical objects continue to exist whether they are perceived or not Compare idealism phenomenalism

7. logic philosophy the theory that the sense of a statement is given by a specification of its truth conditions, or that there is a reality independent of the speaker's conception of it that determines the truth or falsehood of every statement

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realism ¹ Cultural  

1. An approach to philosophy that regards external objects as the most fundamentally real things, with perceptions or ideas as secondary. Realism is thus opposed to idealism. Materialism and naturalism are forms of realism. The term realism is also used to describe a movement in literature that attempts to portray life as it is.

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realism ² Cultural  

1. An attempt to make art and literature resemble life. Realist painters and writers take their subjects from the world around them (instead of from idealized subjects, such as figures in mythology or folklore) and try to represent them in a lifelike manner.

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Other Word Forms

• antirealism noun
• hyperrealism noun
• nonrealism noun
• overrealism noun
• prorealism noun
• ultrarealism noun
• unrealism noun

Etymology

Origin of realism

First recorded in 1810–20; real ¹ + -ism; compare French réalisme

Explanation

Realism is an approach to life that means dealing with the way things are. If you see the world through the lens of realism, you accept what's in front of you and don't pretend it's otherwise. For those who follow the doctrine of realism, it's "just the facts, ma'am." What you see is what you get; if you can't see it or touch it, it doesn't really exist. Realism is more than just a way of approaching life; it is a formal philosophy and a 19th-century art movement, where animals and people and landscapes are depicted as they appear — no purple and green faces or polka-dotted ponies, just people and trees and landscapes painted in proportions and colors that look like the real thing.

Example Sentences

In Verdi’s hands the waltz is no mere set piece articulating place and time, but a throughline central to the realism at the heart of the work.

From The Wall Street Journal • Mar. 13, 2026

The former Solicitor General of the United States puts the tariffs case in its legal realism context.

From Slate • Feb. 28, 2026

Lowdon and Cadillac F1 chief executive officer Dan Towriss, who has the same position at TWG, have been keen to emphasise the size of the task at hand, and their own sense of realism.

From BBC • Feb. 27, 2026

“Hedda Gabler” marks the end of Ibsen’s great stretch of realism and paves the way for his late symbolist period, which includes the masterpieces “The Master Builder” and “When We Dead Awaken.”

From Los Angeles Times • Feb. 25, 2026

The advantage of realism at face value is that it seems easier to understand.

From "History of Art, Volume 1" by H.W. Janson

Related Words

• reality
• truth
• verisimilitude