as in realism
realistic depiction in art and literature
if audiences ever got the literalism they claim they want in movies, they'd be fast asleep by the second reel
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Recent Examples of literalism
This is the first one post-Barbie, which has ushered in a new wave of literalism on the red carpet.
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Jason P. Frank, Vulture, 6 May 2024
Together, the films also prove that literalism isn’t always required in stories that impart messy truths about humanity.
—Esther Zuckerman, New York Times, 26 Jan. 2024
The Biblical literalism question points to the answer: non-fundamentalist Christians have shifted toward evolution over the years.
—Razib Khan, Discover Magazine, 6 Apr. 2012
The silhouette, the outline, and the shadow were, as the anthology’s editors indicate, crucial tools in this arsenal of suggestion—visual forms quite outside the usual repertoire of Pop art, which depended on an arch literalism for its effects.
—Adam Gopnik, The New Yorker, 20 Mar. 2023
See All Example Sentences for literalism
Jason P. Frank, Vulture, 6 May 2024
Together, the films also prove that literalism isn’t always required in stories that impart messy truths about humanity.
—Esther Zuckerman, New York Times, 26 Jan. 2024
The Biblical literalism question points to the answer: non-fundamentalist Christians have shifted toward evolution over the years.
—Razib Khan, Discover Magazine, 6 Apr. 2012
The silhouette, the outline, and the shadow were, as the anthology’s editors indicate, crucial tools in this arsenal of suggestion—visual forms quite outside the usual repertoire of Pop art, which depended on an arch literalism for its effects.
—Adam Gopnik, The New Yorker, 20 Mar. 2023
See All Example Sentences for literalism
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Literally
A word that (literally) drives people nuts
Cite this Entry
“Literalism.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/literalism. Accessed 7 Apr. 2025.
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