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

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

As in “Sorry to Bother You,” that world is a surreal, capitalist-dystopian version of our own, equal parts magic realism and B-movie sci-fi.

From New York Times • Jun. 22, 2023

It’s really kind of like magic realism, or in that spirit, because it’s more of a metaphorical point.

From Los Angeles Times • Jan. 22, 2023

The queen of magic realism, Isabelle Allende, follows two parallel stories of war and immigration in The Wind Knows My Name.

From BBC • Dec. 26, 2022

Writing back to the empire, asserting its independence in "chutnified" Indian English, this masterpiece of magic realism borrows the device of the storytelling scribe from the "Mahabharata," an ancient Indian epic.

From Salon • Aug. 27, 2022