surrealism
[ suh-ree-uh-liz-uhm ]
/ səˈri əˌlɪz əm /
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noun (sometimes initial capital letter)
a style of art and literature developed principally in the 20th century, stressing the subconscious or nonrational significance of imagery arrived at by automatism or the exploitation of chance effects, unexpected juxtapositions, etc.
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OTHER WORDS FROM surrealism
sur·re·al·ist, noun, adjectiveWords nearby surrealism
surprising, surprisingly, surra, Surratt, surreal, surrealism, surrealistic, surrebuttal, surrebutter, surrejoinder, surrender
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Example sentences from the Web for surrealism
British Dictionary definitions for surrealism
surrealism
/ (səˈrɪəˌlɪzəm) /
noun
(sometimes capital) a movement in art and literature in the 1920s, which developed esp from dada, characterized by the evocative juxtaposition of incongruous images in order to include unconscious and dream elements
Derived forms of surrealism
surrealist, noun, adjectivesurrealistic, adjectivesurrealistically, adverbWord Origin for surrealism
C20: from French surréalisme, from sur- 1 + réalisme realism
Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition
© William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins
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Cultural definitions for surrealism
surrealism
A movement in art and literature that flourished in the early twentieth century. Surrealism aimed at expressing imaginative dreams and visions free from conscious rational control. Salvador Dali was an influential surrealist painter; Jean Cocteau was a master of surrealist film.
The New Dictionary of Cultural Literacy, Third Edition
Copyright © 2005 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.