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.

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photorealism British  

/ ˌfəʊtəʊˈrɪəˌlɪzəm /

noun

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

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Other Word Forms

• photorealist
  noun
• photorealistic
  adjective

Etymology

Origin of photorealism

First recorded in 1960–65; photo- + realism

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

photorealism

This latest version improved on graphics quality, meaning scenes created with it had more photorealism than before.

From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 17, 2026

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

While other photorealism painters such as Richard Estes and Ralph Goings favored images such as gleaming diners or glassy street scenes, Mr. Gertsch first gained attention as an observer of the Swiss counterculture.

From Washington Post ● Dec. 23, 2022

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

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