magic realism

American  

Or magical realism

noun

1. a style of painting and literature in which fantastic or imaginary and often unsettling images or events are depicted in a sharply detailed, realistic manner.

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magic realism British  

noun

1. a style of painting or writing that depicts images or scenes of surreal fantasy in a representational or realistic way

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Other Word Forms

• magic realist
  noun

Etymology

Origin of magic realism

First recorded in 1925–30

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

magic realism

“As it stands now, it all just seems like magic realism: ‘We’re tough and we will bring inflation down to 2%, but I’m not going to explain to you how,’” Tetlow said.

From MarketWatch ● Aug. 27, 2026

Additionally, the movement from domestic mayhem to cosmic absurdity evokes the works of Paula Vogel and Sarah Ruhl, American exemplars of magic realism.

From Los Angeles Times ● Apr. 16, 2025

His 1979 work The Book of Laughter and Forgetting spanned seven narratives and containing elements of the magic realism genre, while in 1988 he wrote one of his best novels, Immortality.

From BBC ● Jul. 12, 2023

Season 2 of “Espookys” leveled up its winsome magic realism with a serial story that combined presidential politics and beauty-pageant intrigue, and Ana Fabrega continues to give one of TV’s great screwball performances.

From New York Times ● Dec. 1, 2022

It is a work of "magic realism" that demands to be read playfully, not literally.

From Salon ● Sep. 3, 2022