naturalistic
Americanadjective
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pertaining to naturalists or natural history.
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pertaining to naturalism, especially in literature and art.
adjective
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of, imitating, or reproducing nature in effect or characteristics
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of or characteristic of naturalism, esp in art or literature
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of or relating to naturalists
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(of an ethical theory) permitting the inference of ethical judgments from statements of nonethical fact See Hume's law
Other Word Forms
Etymology
Origin of naturalistic
Explanation
Something that's naturalistic looks real. If you say "excuse me" to a naturalistic mannequin in a store, then that mannequin must look like the real deal! Naturalistic things resemble or are influence by reality, so a naturalistic conversation in a movie sounds like something people would really say to each other, and the naturalistic mooing sound your little cousin makes sounds like a real cow. The 1849 definition of naturalistic was "aiming for realism," from natural and its Latin root, naturalis, "according to nature."
Vocabulary lists containing naturalistic
Drama Terminology
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Reading: Literature - Drama - High School
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Words to Describe a Work of Art
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Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
Naturalistic scenes portray the changing emotions and appearances of the royal family; even Nefertiti is shown with wrinkles as she ages.
From The Guardian • Apr. 26, 2019
Naturalistic driving studies are now equipping cars with accelerometers, sonar, sensors that track driver inputs, and lots of video cameras.
From Slate • Nov. 21, 2017
The data came from the Second Strategic Highway Research Program Naturalistic Driving Study, which tracked 3,500 motorists with cameras and sensors monitoring speed, acceleration and GPS location.
From New York Times • Feb. 24, 2016
The study, “Using Naturalistic Driving Data to Assess the Prevalence of Environmental Factors and Driver Behaviors in Teen Driver Crashes,” was conducted in partnership with researchers at the University of Iowa.
From Forbes • Mar. 25, 2015
Naturalistic art goes for its subject matter to the forgotten and disinherited of the earth, and it was with these that Hauptmann was primarily concerned.
From The Dramatic Works of Gerhart Hauptmann Volume I by Hauptmann, Gerhart
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
