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.
- 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).
- (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.
- a manner of treating subject matter that presents a careful description of everyday life, usually of the lower and middle classes.
- 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.
- the doctrine that universals have a real objective existence.Compare conceptualism, nominalism.
- the doctrine that objects of sense perception have an existence independent of the act of perception.Compare idealism(def 5a).
OTHER WORDS FROM realism
Words nearby realism
real-time ultrasound,
realgar,
realia,
realign,
realignment,
realism,
realist,
realistic,
reality,
reality awareness,
reality check
Example sentences from the Web for realism
British Dictionary definitions for realism
realism
/ (ˈrɪəˌlɪzəm) /
noun
Cultural definitions for realism (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.