literalism
Americannoun
-
adherence to the exact letter or the literal sense, as in translation or interpretation.
to interpret the law with uncompromising literalism.
-
a peculiarity of expression resulting from this.
The work is studded with these obtuse literalisms.
-
exact representation or portrayal, without idealization, as in art or literature.
a literalism more appropriate to journalism than to the novel.
noun
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the disposition to take words and statements in their literal sense
-
literal or realistic portrayal in art or literature
Other Word Forms
Etymology
Origin of literalism
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.
This isn’t the kind of puzzle thriller in which all the elements click into place with a thudding literalism that compliments an attentive eye.
From Los Angeles Times ● Mar. 21, 2025
Yet he passionately argued against biblical literalism and other views such as intelligent design, which professes that the natural world is too complex to have developed without the guiding hand of a supreme being.
From Washington Post ● Mar. 7, 2023
Maimonides claimed that biblical literalism was the main reason people could not get closer to God.
From Textbooks ● Jun. 15, 2022
It's been quoted to argue against Biblical literalism and science denial.
From Salon ● Jan. 28, 2022
But you wouldn't know all this if you went by the sound of his name—which I did, an immigrant's failing, literalism.
From "How the García Girls Lost Their Accents" by Julia Alvarez
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.
