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

• literalist
  noun
• literalistic
  adjective
• literalistically
  adverb

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Etymology

Origin of literalism

First recorded in 1635–45; literal + -ism

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Example Sentences

See Examples For:

literalism

There is something almost touching about the literalism.

From Salon ● Sep. 23, 2026

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 there were other moments when they insisted on literalism, and the end of the song “Burn,” in which Eliza Hamilton expresses her outrage at her husband’s infidelity, was one of those.

From New York Times ● Sep. 14, 2022

Maimonides claimed that biblical literalism was the main reason people could not get closer to God.

From Textbooks ● Jun. 15, 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

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