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

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Etymology

Origin of magic realism

First recorded in 1925–30

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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

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

There are surreal moments and scenes of magic realism.

From Salon ● Jun. 9, 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

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