verisimilar
Americanadjective
adjective
Other Word Forms
Etymology
Origin of verisimilar
First recorded in 1675–85; from Latin vērīsimil(is) ( vērī, genitive singular of vērum “truth,” + similis “like, resembling”) + -ar 1
Explanation
The adjective verisimilar describes something that appears to be true or real but may not be. If you want to impress your friends, remark on the verisimilar portrait of lost love in that foreign film you all went to see. Verisimilar comes from Latin. You’ll notice the word similar at the end, which means “like.” Veri- comes from the word veritas, meaning “truth.” Something that is verisimilar is “like true,” but is not necessarily actually true. A painting of your uncle Marvin, for example, might be so good that it’s verisimilar, in that it almost looks like Uncle Marvin is standing right there — but he isn't.
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.
His polemic against the French school is chiefly directed to claiming a place in poetry for the verisimilar, as against absolute historical exactitude.
From Aesthetic as Science of Expression and General Linguistic by Croce, Benedetto
Extravagant as are the situations in La Nuit et le Moment, the other best thing, they are, but for the longueurs already censured, singularly verisimilar on their own postulates.
From A History of the French Novel, Vol. 1 From the Beginning to 1800 by Saintsbury, George
Aesthetic truths for Baumgarten were those which did not seem altogether false or altogether true: in fact, the verisimilar.
From Aesthetic as Science of Expression and General Linguistic by Croce, Benedetto
But the ridiculous must no longer come forward as the pure creation of his own fancy, but must be verisimilar, that is, seem to be real.
From Lectures on Dramatic Art and Literature by Black, John
Are these dramas of his not verisimilar only, but true; nay, truer than reality itself, since the essence of unmixed reality is bodied forth in them under more expressive symbols?
From English literary criticism by Various
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.
