eloquentserendipityephemeralluminous

Your Smart Vocabulary Companion

Discover, understand, and master new words with intelligent definitions, contextual synonyms, and personalized learning tools.

"

Word of the Day

Thursday, January 30, 2025

verisimilitude

/ˌverəsəˈmilədəd/noun

The appearance of being true or real; the quality of seeming to be true; likeness to truth.

Etymology

From Latin "verisimilitudo," from "veri" (of truth) + "similitudo" (likeness, similarity). Literally "the likeness of truth."

Usage Examples

  1. "The novel's verisimilitude made readers believe the fictional events could have actually happened."

  2. "Historical films need verisimilitude in costumes and settings to be convincing."

  3. "The actor brought such verisimilitude to the role that audiences forgot he was performing."

Synonyms

  • Realism
  • Authenticity
  • Believability
  • Plausibility
  • Truthfulness

Fun Facts

  • It's not about being true, but about seeming true - crucial in fiction and art.
  • Film critics often discuss a movie's verisimilitude when assessing its realism.
  • It's one of the longest common words in English at 14 letters!

Related Terms

  • Plausibility: The quality of seeming reasonable or probable
  • Authenticity: The quality of being genuine or real
  • Credibility: The quality of being trusted and believed in
Browse Archive

Explore Features

Recently Viewed

Your recently viewed words will appear here

Start exploring

Boost your vocabulary routine

When you need inspirational prompts to explore alongside WordWell, the creative collections inside PromptCraft pair beautifully with our Word of the Day. For deeper synonym dives, the contextual comparisons on SynonymPro help you refine tone before you save new favorites here.