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realism

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re⋅al⋅ism

  [ree-uh-liz-uhm]
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–noun
1. interest in or concern for the actual or real, as distinguished from the abstract, speculative, etc.
2. the tendency to view or represent things as they really are.
3. Fine Arts.
a. 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).
b. (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.
4. Literature.
a. a manner of treating subject matter that presents a careful description of everyday life, usually of the lower and middle classes.
b. 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).
5. Philosophy.
a. the doctrine that universals have a real objective existence. Compare conceptualism, nominalism.
b. the doctrine that objects of sense perception have an existence independent of the act of perception. Compare idealism (def. 5a).
Origin:
1810–20; real 1 + -ism; cf. F réalisme
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2009.
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re·al·ism   (rē'ə-lĭz'əm)   
n.  

  1. An inclination toward literal truth and pragmatism.

  2. The representation in art or literature of objects, actions, or social conditions as they actually are, without idealization or presentation in abstract form.

  3. Philosophy

    1. The scholastic doctrine, opposed to nominalism, that universals exist independently of their being thought.

    2. The modern philosophical doctrine, opposed to idealism, that physical objects exist independently of their being perceived.

The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition
Copyright © 2009 by Houghton Mifflin Company.
Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.
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Cultural Dictionary

realism

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

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.

The American Heritage® New Dictionary of Cultural Literacy, Third Edition
Copyright © 2005 by Houghton Mifflin Company.
Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.
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Word Origin & History

realism 
1817, from real (adj.), after Fr. réalisme or Ger. Realismus, from L.L. realis "real." Opposed to idealism in philosophy, art, etc. In ref. 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 ref. to unpleasant details) is attested from 1856.
Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2001 Douglas Harper
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