REALISM

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 Dictionary entry overview: What does realism mean? 

• REALISM (noun)
  The noun REALISM has 5 senses:

1. the attribute of accepting the facts of life and favoring practicality and literal truth

2. the state of being actual or real

3. (philosophy) the philosophical doctrine that physical objects continue to exist when not perceived

4. an artistic movement in 19th century France; artists and writers strove for detailed realistic and factual description

5. (philosophy) the philosophical doctrine that abstract concepts exist independent of their names

  Familiarity information: REALISM used as a noun is common.

 Dictionary entry details 

• REALISM (noun)

Sense 1

Meaning:

The attribute of accepting the facts of life and favoring practicality and literal truth

Classified under:

Nouns denoting attributes of people and objects

Synonyms:

pragmatism; realism

Hypernyms ("realism" is a kind of...):

practicality (concerned with actual use rather than theoretical possibilities)

Derivation:

realist (a painter who represents the world realistically and not in an idealized or romantic style)

realist (a person who accepts the world as it literally is and deals with it accordingly)

Sense 2

Meaning:

The state of being actual or real

Classified under:

Nouns denoting stable states of affairs

Synonyms:

realism; reality; realness

Context example:

the reality of his situation slowly dawned on him

Hypernyms ("realism" is a kind of...):

actuality (the state of actually existing objectively)

Attribute:

existent; real (being or occurring in fact or actuality; having verified existence; not illusory)

unreal (lacking in reality or substance or genuineness; not corresponding to acknowledged facts or criteria)

Hyponyms (each of the following is a kind of "realism"):

fact (an event known to have happened or something known to have existed)

Derivation:

realist (a philosopher who believes that universals are real and exist independently of anyone thinking of them)

realist (a painter who represents the world realistically and not in an idealized or romantic style)

realist (a person who accepts the world as it literally is and deals with it accordingly)

Sense 3

Meaning:

(philosophy) the philosophical doctrine that physical objects continue to exist when not perceived

Classified under:

Nouns denoting cognitive processes and contents

Synonyms:

naive realism; realism

Hypernyms ("realism" is a kind of...):

philosophical doctrine; philosophical theory (a doctrine accepted by adherents to a philosophy)

Domain category:

philosophy (the rational investigation of questions about existence and knowledge and ethics)

Sense 4

Meaning:

An artistic movement in 19th century France; artists and writers strove for detailed realistic and factual description

Classified under:

Nouns denoting groupings of people or objects

Synonyms:

naturalism; realism

Hypernyms ("realism" is a kind of...):

art movement; artistic movement (a group of artists who agree on general principles)

Derivation:

realist (a painter who represents the world realistically and not in an idealized or romantic style)

Sense 5

Meaning:

(philosophy) the philosophical doctrine that abstract concepts exist independent of their names

Classified under:

Nouns denoting cognitive processes and contents

Synonyms:

Platonism; realism

Hypernyms ("realism" is a kind of...):

philosophical doctrine; philosophical theory (a doctrine accepted by adherents to a philosophy)

Domain category:

philosophy (the rational investigation of questions about existence and knowledge and ethics)

Derivation:

realist (a philosopher who believes that universals are real and exist independently of anyone thinking of them)

 Context examples 

What he sought was an impassioned realism, shot through with human aspiration and faith.

(Martin Eden, by Jack London)

We have in our police reports realism pushed to its extreme limits, and yet the result is, it must be confessed, neither fascinating nor artistic.

(The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes, by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle)

His work was realism, though he had endeavored to fuse with it the fancies and beauties of imagination.

(Martin Eden, by Jack London)

Realism is imperative to my nature, and the bourgeois spirit hates realism.

(Martin Eden, by Jack London)

"See!" he cried triumphantly. "It's a bona fide piece of printed matter. It fooled me. This fella's a regular Belasco. It's a triumph. What thoroughness! What realism! Knew when to stop too—didn't cut the pages. But what do you want? What do you expect?"

(The Great Gatsby, by F. Scott Fitzgerald)