verism

[ veer-iz-uhm, ver- ]

noun

1. the theory that rigid representation of truth and reality is essential to art and literature, and therefore the ugly and vulgar must be included.

verism

/ ˈvɪərɪzəm /

noun

1. extreme naturalism in art or literature

Derived Forms

• ˈverist, nounadjective
• veˈristic, adjective

Other Words From

• verist noun adjective
• ve·ristic adjective

Word History and Origins

Origin of verism¹

1890–95; < Latin vēr ( um ) truth + -ism; verismo

Word History and Origins

Origin of verism¹

C19: from Italian verismo, from vero true, from Latin vērus

Example Sentences

That is the source of a debate over the film's veracity and verism -- a controversy echoing the rumpus over The Last Temptation of Christ, but with politics, not theology, as the sticking point.

From Time Magazine Archive

Verism and naturalism have since afforded the spectacle of a confusion of the aesthetic fact with the processes of the natural sciences, by aiming at some sort of experimental drama or romance.

From Project Gutenberg

They accused each other of sham writing and sham culture, and hurled at each other's heads the words "idealism" and "materialism," "symbolism" and "verism," "subjectivism" and "objectivism."

From Project Gutenberg

Related Words

• reality
• truth
• verisimilitude