ultrarealistic

adjective

ul·​tra·​re·​al·​is·​tic ˌəl-trə-ˌrē-ə-ˈli-stik 

variants or less commonly ultrarealist

ˌəl-trə-ˈrē-ə-list 

: extremely realistic: such as

a

: very accurately representing what is natural or real

an ultrarealistic video game

ultrarealistic special effects

An entire chapter dedicated to Eakins's ultrarealist operating room depiction, The Gross Clinic (1875) proves illuminating all the way through.

—Publishers Weekly Reviews

: very convincingly rendered to appear natural

an ultrarealistic prosthetic arm

b

: extremely pragmatic or sensible : guided by or based on an unusually clear sense of what is real rather than what is wanted or hoped for

an ultrarealistic person/strategy

ultrarealism

ˌəl-trə-ˈrē-ə-ˌli-zəm 

noun

Modern sports games are realistic simulations of actual league play. … Thanks to such ultrarealism, young gamers become experts in baseball, and any other sport games they play.

—Christopher Shulgan

ultrarealist noun

plural ultrarealists

It was after she returned that [Jane] Mabry began painting portraits and American Indians as subject matter, the art for which she became widely known. "She was an ultrarealist," Gwenyth Mabry said, noting that she worked mainly in pastels and oils.

—Lloyd Jojola

Examples of ultrarealistic in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web

Emerging around the same time as bourgeois capitalism, ultrarealistic still lifes both reflected and abetted a culture newly bewitched by commodities. —New York Times, 11 Aug. 2021

The result is an ultrarealistic sound that is versatile for a number of different call sequences. —M.d. Johnson, Field & Stream, 7 Feb. 2023

The idea of a Chicago street race was first raised publicly last June when iRacing, the ultrarealistic racing simulation game, developed one based on actual roadways there. —Dave Kallmann, Journal Sentinel, 19 July 2022

Today, a new wave of false eyelashes offers an alternative to the bigger-is-better mentality: faux fringe that’s ultrarealistic, less cumbersome to wear and expressly intended to be gender-fluid. —New York Times, 5 Apr. 2022

Now scientists have unraveled the challenge virtually by training an artificial intelligence program to outpace human competitors at the ultrarealistic racing game Gran Turismo Sport. —Sophie Bushwick, Scientific American, 11 Feb. 2022

Most interactive toys strive to be ultrarealistic, but Squeakee offers all the functions of a robot pup in a bright, silly package. —Rachel Rothman, Good Housekeeping, 20 Oct. 2020

Ishiguro built the android as part of his work at Osaka University and ATR Intelligent Robotics and Communication Laboratories, with collaboration from Kokoro Co., which specializes in animatronics and ultrarealistic androids. —IEEE Spectrum, 20 Apr. 2010

Word History

First Known Use

1859, in the meaning defined above