naturalism

C2+ Topic:Abstract Ideas

US /ˈnætʃərəˌlɪzəm/ UK /ˈnætʃrəlɪzəm/ See IPA manual

Meanings

1

noun
a style or doctrine depicting things as they really are in nature

The novel's gritty naturalism spared readers no detail of factory life.

Thesaurus

Synonyms

1 noun · a style or doctrine... realism verisimilitude materialism empiricism

Opposites

idealismsupernaturalismabstraction romanticism

Word family

Derived forms naturalist naturalistic

Related forms nature natural naturalize

Etymology

From natural (from Latin naturalis, 'by birth, according to nature', from natura, 'nature', from natus, 'born') plus -ism.

naturalis Latin natura Latin

View etymology graph ->

Topics

Abstract Ideas Word Formation & Derivatives

External links

# naturalism

**Type:** Word
**Level:** C2+
**Part of speech:** noun
**IPA (US):** /ˈnætʃərəˌlɪzəm/
**IPA (UK):** /ˈnætʃrəlɪzəm/

## Meanings
1. a style or doctrine depicting things as they really are in nature

## Examples
- The novel's gritty naturalism spared readers no detail of factory life.

## Synonyms
- realism
- verisimilitude
- materialism
- empiricism

## Antonyms
- idealism
- supernaturalism
- abstraction
- romanticism

## Derived Forms
- naturalist
- naturalistic

## Related Forms
- nature
- natural
- naturalize

## Roots and Affixes
- Root: naturalis
- Root: natura

## Etymology
From natural (from Latin naturalis, 'by birth, according to nature', from natura, 'nature', from natus, 'born') plus -ism.

## AI Etymology
Naturalism comes from natural (from Latin naturalis, 'by birth, according to nature', from natura, 'nature', from natus, 'born') plus -ism. The suffix is part of the word's derivational shape, marking the final grammatical or semantic role while the base supplies the central meaning. As a noun, it denotes "a style or doctrine depicting things as they really are in nature", keeping the historical idea close to its dictionary sense. Relevant historical forms include Latin naturalis and Latin natura. Derivative forms include naturalist, naturalistic; related words include nature, natural, naturalize.

## Topics
- Abstract Ideas
- Word Formation & Derivatives

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