verisimilitude
/vɛɹɪsɪˈmɪlɪtjuːd/
verisimilitude means the property of seeming true, of resembling reality; resemblance to reality. It carries an Arena rating of 1844, earned across 35 head-to-head judged battles.
Among words judged in Lexicurio's Arena, verisimilitude ranks #147 of 17,128 for Most Ponderous Words, #458 of 17,126 for Most Satisfying to Say, #1,399 of 17,127 for Words That Escaped Their Books, #2,252 of 17,134 for Most Malleable Words.
verisimilitude is pronounced /vɛɹɪsɪˈmɪlɪtjuːd/.
Why “verisimilitude” is a great word
Verisimilitude is the convincing appearance of being true or real, especially within a crafted narrative or artwork. From the Latin vērī (genitive of vērus, 'true') and similitūdō ('likeness, resemblance'), meaning 'likeness to truth,' it entered English c. 1600 from Middle French vérisimilitude. Unlike 'authenticity,' which stakes a claim on actual, historical genuineness, or 'realism,' which often demands a strict fidelity to observable life, verisimilitude is the artful illusion of truth, the internal coherence that makes a reader accept a dragon's psychology or a spaceship's hum. It is the meticulously tarnished buckle on a costume, the perfectly timed flaw in a character's logic, the echo of familiar grief in an alien saga—the subtle craft of building a lie so sturdy it can bear the weight of belief.
Etymology
From Middle French vérisimilitude, from Latin vērīsimilitūdō (“likeness to truth”), more correctly written separately as vērī similitūdō; from vērī, genitive singular of vērus (“true, real”), + similitūdō (“likeness, resemblance”).
noun
- The property of seeming true, of resembling reality; resemblance to reality.
- A statement which merely appears to be true.
- Faithfulness to its own rules; internal cohesion.e.g.“On July 12, Madame filed suit for divorce, naming one Jane McManus as his principal mistress. Other adulteries were noted in the interest of verisimilitude.” — 1973, Gore Vidal, chapter 16, in Burr:
Definitions & examples from Wiktionary (CC BY-SA 3.0).
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