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photorealism

American  
[foh-toh-ree-uh-liz-uhm] / ˌfoʊ toʊˈri əˌlɪz əm /
Sometimes photo realism

noun

(sometimes initial capital letter)
  1. a style of painting flourishing in the 1970s, especially in the U.S., England, and France, and depicting commonplace scenes or ordinary people, with a meticulously detailed realism, flat images, and barely discernible brushwork that suggests and often is based on or incorporates an actual photograph.


photorealism British  
/ ˌfəʊtəʊˈrɪəˌlɪzəm /

noun

  1. a style of painting and sculpture that depicts esp commonplace urban images with meticulously accurate detail

"Collins English Dictionary — Complete & Unabridged" 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Other Word Forms

Etymology

Origin of photorealism

First recorded in 1960–65; photo- + realism

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.

But graphics in many different games have been getting noticeably more sophisticated, arguably approaching what's known as "photorealism" - indistinguishable from photos or videos of the real world.

From BBC • Jun. 1, 2023

Early images from this live-action movie, which is based on Norman Bridwell’s beloved children’s book character, have raised the question of whether photorealism suits a large rouge canine.

From New York Times • Nov. 4, 2021

“The goal was never photorealism so much as naturalism,” McGibben says.

From Los Angeles Times • Jan. 25, 2021

On the plus side, Linda was smart to go deliberately abstract here, shunning the attempted photorealism of her peers for something with a little more artistic licence.

From The Guardian • Sep. 23, 2020

This method is faster and more flexible, and much better at photorealism.

From Washington Post