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).

Origin

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

Related forms

antirealism, noun

hyperrealism, noun

nonrealism, noun

overrealism, noun

prorealism, noun

ultrarealism, noun

unrealism, noun

Examples from the web for realism

It's been a bumpy ride from realism to believability.
Add realism to your map images, and produce presentation-quality graphics when you need them.
One was to combine an intense sense of realism with flamboyant brushwork-which gives his work a highly personal quality.
Had he ever descended to realism his comedies might have been open to reproach.
These plays should not be judged by comparison with the realism of the modern drama.
It lies, of course, in the combination of the strictest realism of detail with a fairy-tale unrealism of general atmosphere.
However, unless our students temper their dreams with realism, they will never achieve them.
Indeed, its importance may be not as a work of romance buttressed by facts, but as a work of realism encased in romance.
He brought an unprecedented realism and accuracy to astronomical art.
These two models are at the extremes of simplicity and complex realism.

British Dictionary definitions for realism

realism

/ˈrɪəˌlɪzəm/

noun

awareness or acceptance of the physical universe, events, etc, as they are, as opposed to the abstract or ideal

awareness or acceptance of the facts and necessities of life; a practical rather than a moral or dogmatic view of things

a style of painting and sculpture that seeks to represent the familiar or typical in real life, rather than an idealized, formalized, or romantic interpretation of it

any similar school or style in other arts, esp literature

(philosophy) the thesis that general terms such as common nouns refer to entities that have a real existence separate from the individuals which fall under them See also universal (sense 11b) Compare Platonism, nominalism, conceptualism, naive realism

(philosophy) the theory that physical objects continue to exist whether they are perceived or not Compare idealism, phenomenalism

(logic, philosophy) the theory that the sense of a statement is given by a specification of its truth conditions, or that there is a reality independent of the speaker's conception of it that determines the truth or falsehood of every statement

Word Origin and History for realism

1794, from real (adj.) + -ism; after French réalisme or German Realismus; from Late Latin realis "real." Opposed to idealism in philosophy, art, etc. In reference to scholastic doctrine of Thomas Aquinas (opposed to nominalism) it is recorded from 1826. Meaning "close resemblance to the scene" (in art, literature, etc., often with reference to unpleasant details) is attested from 1856.

realism in Culture

realism definition

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.

realism definition

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.