literalism

[ lit-er-uh-liz-uhm ]

noun

1. adherence to the exact letter or the literal sense, as in translation or interpretation:

   to interpret the law with uncompromising literalism.

2. a peculiarity of expression resulting from this:

   The work is studded with these obtuse literalisms.

3. exact representation or portrayal, without idealization, as in art or literature:

   a literalism more appropriate to journalism than to the novel.

literalism

/ ˈlɪtərəˌlɪzəm /

noun

1. the disposition to take words and statements in their literal sense
2. literal or realistic portrayal in art or literature

Derived Forms

• ˌliteralˈistic, adjective
• ˌliteralˈistically, adverb
• ˈliteralist, noun

Other Words From

• liter·al·ist noun
• liter·al·istic adjective
• liter·al·isti·cal·ly adverb

Word History and Origins

Origin of literalism¹

First recorded in 1635–45; literal + -ism

Example Sentences

Together, the films also prove that literalism isn’t always required in stories that impart messy truths about humanity.

From New York Times

The oxymoronic “intelligent design” movement, a repackaging of creationism, attempted to position biblical literalism as equivalent to the copiously evidenced theory of evolution, insisting schools “teach the controversy.”

From Scientific American

Yet he passionately argued against biblical literalism and other views such as intelligent design, which professes that the natural world is too complex to have developed without the guiding hand of a supreme being.

From Washington Post

Meanwhile, Wilde’s direction manages to be simultaneously overheated and pedestrian, resorting to blunt-force literalism in moments that call for Hitchcockian finesse.

From Washington Post

But there were other moments when they insisted on literalism, and the end of the song “Burn,” in which Eliza Hamilton expresses her outrage at her husband’s infidelity, was one of those.

From New York Times