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verisimilitude

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ver⋅i⋅si⋅mil⋅i⋅tude

[ver-uh-si-mil-i-tood, -tyood]
–noun
1. the appearance or semblance of truth; likelihood; probability: The play lacked verisimilitude.
2. something, as an assertion, having merely the appearance of truth.

Origin:
1595–1605; < L vērīsimilitūdō, equiv. to vērī (gen. sing. of vērum truth) + similitūdō similitude
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2009.
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ver·i·si·mil·i·tude   (věr'ə-sĭ-mĭl'ĭ-tōōd', -tyōōd')   
n.  
  1. The quality of appearing to be true or real. See Synonyms at truth.

  2. Something that has the appearance of being true or real.


[Latin vērīsimilitūdō, from vērīsimilis, verisimilar; see verisimilar.]
ver'i·si·mil'i·tu'di·nous (-tōōd'n-əs, -tyōōd'-) adj.
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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Word Origin & History

verisimilitude 
1603, from Fr. verisimilitude (1549), from L. verisimilitudo "likeness to truth," from veri, genitive of verum, neut. of verus "true" (see very) + similis "like, similar" (see similar).
Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2001 Douglas Harper
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Encyclopedia

verisimilitude

the semblance of reality in dramatic or nondramatic fiction. The concept implies that either the action represented must be acceptable or convincing according to the audience's own experience or knowledge or, as in the presentation of science fiction or tales of the supernatural, the audience must be enticed into willingly suspending disbelief and accepting improbable actions as true within the framework of the narrative.

Learn more about verisimilitude with a free trial on Britannica.com.

Encyclopedia Britannica, 2008. Encyclopedia Britannica Online.
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