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From its roots, verisimilitude means basically "similarity to the truth". Most fiction writers and filmmakers aim at some kind of verisimilitude to give their stories an air of reality. They need not show something actually true, or even very common, but simply something believable. A mass of good details in a play, novel, painting, or film may add verisimilitude. A spy novel without some verisimilitude won't interest many readers, but a fantastical novel may not even attempt to seem true to life.
Examples of verisimilitude in a Sentence
the novel's degree of verisimilitude is compromised by 18th-century characters who speak in very 21st-century English
Recent Examples on the Web
However, its writing process involved putting the script in front of actual child therapists to ensure its verisimilitude, so rare are the moments (if any) when Wang’s performance doesn’t feel rooted in the familiar.
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Siddhant Adlakha, Variety, 18 Mar. 2026
Designers of digital voice assistants do not strive to maximize verisimilitude in their products’ anthropomorphism.
—Rafil Kroll-Zaidi, Harpers Magazine, 27 Jan. 2026
Her designs for the Safdies, as well as her prolific Instagram cataloguing of clothes worn by regular people on the street, have earned her a reputation as a doyenne of verisimilitude.
—Victoria Uren, New Yorker, 12 Jan. 2026
The verisimilitude rippled out to other departments.
—David Canfield, HollywoodReporter, 7 Jan. 2026
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Siddhant Adlakha, Variety, 18 Mar. 2026
Designers of digital voice assistants do not strive to maximize verisimilitude in their products’ anthropomorphism.
—Rafil Kroll-Zaidi, Harpers Magazine, 27 Jan. 2026
Her designs for the Safdies, as well as her prolific Instagram cataloguing of clothes worn by regular people on the street, have earned her a reputation as a doyenne of verisimilitude.
—Victoria Uren, New Yorker, 12 Jan. 2026
The verisimilitude rippled out to other departments.
—David Canfield, HollywoodReporter, 7 Jan. 2026
See All Example Sentences for verisimilitude
Cite this Entry
“Verisimilitude.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/verisimilitude. Accessed 2 Apr. 2026.
Copy CitationKids Definition
verisimilitude
noun
veri·si·mil·i·tude
ˌver-ə-sə-ˈmil-ə-ˌt(y)üd 
: the appearance of being true or real
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