realism

[ ree-uh-liz-uh m ]
/ ˈri əˌlɪz əm /

noun

interest in or concern for the actual or real, as distinguished from the abstract, speculative, etc.
the tendency to view or represent things as they really are.
Fine Arts.
  1. treatment of forms, colors, space, etc., in such a manner as to emphasize their correspondence to actuality or to ordinary visual experience.Compare idealism(def 4), naturalism(def 2).
  2. (usually initial capital letter) a style of painting and sculpture developed about the mid-19th century in which figures and scenes are depicted as they are experienced or might be experienced in everyday life.
Literature.
  1. a manner of treating subject matter that presents a careful description of everyday life, usually of the lower and middle classes.
  2. a theory of writing in which the ordinary, familiar, or mundane aspects of life are represented in a straightforward or matter-of-fact manner that is presumed to reflect life as it actually is.Compare naturalism(def 1b).
Philosophy.
  1. the doctrine that universals have a real objective existence.Compare conceptualism, nominalism.
  2. the doctrine that objects of sense perception have an existence independent of the act of perception.Compare idealism(def 5a).

Origin of realism

1810–20; real1 + -ism; compare French réalisme

OTHER WORDS FROM realism

British Dictionary definitions for hyperrealism (1 of 2)

hyperrealism
/ (ˌhaɪpəˈrɪəlɪzəm) /

noun

another word for photorealism

Derived forms of hyperrealism

hyperrealist, noun, adjective hyperrealistic, adjective

British Dictionary definitions for hyperrealism (2 of 2)

realism
/ (ˈrɪəˌlɪzəm) /

noun

Cultural definitions for hyperrealism (1 of 2)

realism

An approach to philosophy that regards external objects as the most fundamentally real things, with perceptions or ideas as secondary. Realism is thus opposed to idealism. Materialism and naturalism are forms of realism. The term realism is also used to describe a movement in literature that attempts to portray life as it is.

Cultural definitions for hyperrealism (2 of 2)

realism

An attempt to make art and literature resemble life. Realist painters and writers take their subjects from the world around them (instead of from idealized subjects, such as figures in mythology or folklore) and try to represent them in a lifelike manner.