naturalism means A state of nature; conformity to nature.
Among words judged in Lexicurio's Arena, naturalism ranks #2,592 of 14,423 for Most Sublime Words, #7,156 of 14,410 for Most Ponderous Words, #7,180 of 14,444 for Most Exacting Words, #7,206 of 14,297 for Words That Escaped Their Books.
Why “naturalism” is a great word
The philosophical doctrine that all phenomena can be explained solely by natural causes and observable laws, without recourse to the supernatural. Its name builds from the Latin naturalis (from natura, 'nature') and the suffix -ism, denoting a system of practice. Unlike supernaturalism, which actively posits forces beyond nature's laws, or artistic realism, which seeks faithful representation, naturalism insists on a deterministic, often scientific, observation stripped of all idealization. It is the physician who finds the lesion and nothing but the lesion, the novelist who records the slum without redemption, the botanist who sees the flower as a mechanism of pistil and stamen without echo of paradise. It is the courage to stare into the machinery of the world and call it whole.
Etymology
From natural + -ism. Compare French naturalisme.
noun
- A state of nature; conformity to nature.
- The doctrine that denies a supernatural agency in the miracles and revelations recorded in religious texts and in spiritual influences.
- Any system of philosophy which refers the phenomena of nature as a blind force or forces acting necessarily or according to fixed laws, excluding origination or direction by a will.
- A doctrine which denies a strong separation between scientific and philosophic methodologies and/or topics
- A movement in theatre, film, and literature that seeks to replicate a believable everyday reality, as opposed to such movements as romanticism, surrealism, or abstract art, in which subjects may receive highly symbolic or idealistic treatment.“More perfect than all in design and technique is a relief of a goat suckling her young, characterised, as it is, not only by naturalism, but also, as Mr. Evans claims, "by a certain ideal dignity and balance."”
- naturism, nudism, social nudity.“In most of the world nudity is prohibited. Where it is not, such as where "Nudism" and "Naturalism" prevails, it is usually the main thing going on.”
- The belief in natural law.
Words closest in meaning
By meaning, not spelling — each word's AI semantic fingerprint, nearest first.
- supernaturalism 89% match — The quality or condition of being supernatural. vs naturalism →
- preternaturalism 87% match — The state of being preternatural; a preternatural condition. vs naturalism →
- supernatural 85% match — Above nature; beyond or added to nature, often so considered because it is given by a deity or some force beyond that with which humans are born. vs naturalism →
- positivist 85% match — A believer in positivism. vs naturalism →
- externalism 84% match — Excessive regard to outward acts or appearances, especially in religion. vs naturalism →
- preternatural 84% match — Beyond or not conforming to what is natural or according to the regular course of things; strange. vs naturalism →
- incorporealism 84% match — Existence without a body or material form; immateriality. vs naturalism →
- metaphysics 83% match — The branch of philosophy which studies fundamental principles intended to describe or explain all that is, and which are not themselves explained by anything more fundamental; the study of first principles; the study of being insofar as it is being (Latin: ens in quantum ens). vs naturalism →