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.
Certainly it’s fascinating to see Wilder, never a strictly naturalistic playwright, continuing in his latter years to embrace the surrealist style that marked much of his dramatic oeuvre.
From The Wall Street Journal • May 21, 2026
Thucydides was partial to naturalistic explanation and, no stranger to eclipses himself, might well have offered Pericles’ nervous helmsman a cloak.
From The Wall Street Journal • Apr. 10, 2026
The production is naturalistic, with bits of expressionist neo-noir worked in when a crime is being described.
From Los Angeles Times • Jan. 8, 2026
Having Albert Brooks as a best friend likely molded his style too; both were forerunners of a school of comedy that merged a naturalistic, conversational delivery with an absurdist sensibility.
From Salon • Dec. 21, 2025
Like most Maya art, the portrait is too stylized to regard as a naturalistic rendering.
From "1491" by Charles C. Mann
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.
