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Glite Dictionary
haunting realism

haunting realism

6.7
A strong, very real image that stays in your mind
  • noun
  • Literature
translation icon : realismo inquietante
  • Her novel is celebrated for its haunting realism, which lingers with readers long after they finish the book.

Examples

  • The director achieved haunting realism in the war scenes, making viewers feel as though they were present.

  • The painting's haunting realism captured the grief and suffering of its subject.

  • The film's haunting realism captivated audiences worldwide.

  • Her painting exhibits a remarkable haunting realism that draws viewers in.

  • Her novel is celebrated for its haunting realism, which lingers with readers long after they finish the book.

  • The director achieved haunting realism in the war scenes, making viewers feel as though they were present.

  • The painting's haunting realism captured the grief and suffering of its subject.

Synonyms

lifelikeness
vshaunting realism
6.5

How real something looks or feels

stresses lasting emotional impact in addition to vivid realism
evocativeness
vshaunting realism
8.4

A quality that makes you picture, feel, or remember things strongly

combines that emotional recall with vivid believable detail

Antonyms

forgettable
16 3.8

Not interesting or special, so people do not remember it

How Vivid

vividness
2 4.2
haunting realism
  • Literature
6.7
depiction
25 4.4

Surface Forms

haunting realism singular
haunting realisms plural

Morphology

haunting + realism

The meaning is directly derivable from combining 'haunting' (lingering, emotionally affecting) with 'realism' (a lifelike or realistic depiction): together they predict an evocative, memorable depiction. This is a straightforward compositional pattern found across languages, so a B1 learner who knows both constituent words (or the related adjective 'realistic') should be able to infer the MWE meaning.

Etymology

The phrase haunting realism paints a clear image: haunting is like a ghost that keeps returning in your mind and realism means lifelike detail, so it describes a scene or story that is so true it 'stays with you'.