surrealism Definition

surrealism
noun

1. A movement in art and literature that sprang up between the first and second World Wars, incorporating the nihilism of Dada. It was heavily influenced by Freudian theories of psychoanalysis and its most prominent aim was to allow the artist's or writer's unconscious to be expressed with complete creative freedom.

Form: Surrealism (sometimes)
2. An example of art or literature that has been influenced by or has a similarity to this movement.

Derivative: surrealist
adj, noun

Derivative: surrealistic
adj

Derivative: surrealistically
adverb

Etymology: Early 20c: from French surréalisme, first coined by the writer, Guillaume Apollinaire (1880‐1918) in the notes to Parade in 1917.