1
Realism in fiction
Details that make an invented world seem credible.
Example
Precise descriptions of ordinary routines give the novel verisimilitude.
verisimilitude
/ˌverɪsɪˈmɪlɪtjuːd/ · ver-ih-sih-MIL-ih-toodnoun
The quality of appearing true, realistic, or lifelike.
Use verisimilitude when a fictional work, reconstruction, account, or representation seems convincingly real even if it is not literally factual.
What verisimilitude Really Means
The word becomes easier to use when its closely related senses are separated and compared.
2
Lifelike representation
Visual or sensory accuracy that resembles reality.
Example
Natural lighting lends the reconstruction remarkable verisimilitude.
3
Plausible account
Internal consistency that makes a narrative seem true.
Example
Contradictory dates weaken the memoir's verisimilitude.
Use verisimilitude Naturally
Notice how the surrounding noun or clause reveals the exact shade of meaning.
Precise descriptions of ordinary routines give the novel verisimilitude.
The replica gains verisimilitude from materials used in the original period.
Minor factual errors do not entirely destroy the film's verisimilitude.
Precision Matters
Verisimilitude overlaps with several common words, but each carries a different emphasis.
verisimilitude
vs.Is the convincing effect of seeming true.
realism
Is a broader style or commitment to depicting reality.
verisimilitude
vs.Requires only an appearance of truth.
truth
Requires factual accuracy.
verisimilitude
vs.Often concerns lifelike detail and representation.
plausibility
Concerns whether something could reasonably be true.
verisimilitude
vs.Creates a convincing appearance of reality.
artifice
Calls attention to deliberate construction or contrivance.
Test verisimilitude in Context
Accurate details make the fictional setting seem convincingly real.
1
The novelist consulted nineteenth-century menus, railway schedules, and street maps, using these precise details to give the invented city a strong sense of ___.