realist

[ree-uh-list]

noun

1. a person who tends to view or represent things as they really are.

2. an artist or a writer whose work is characterized by realism.

3. Philosophy.,  an adherent of realism.

adjective

1. of or relating to realism or to a person who embodies its principles or practices.

   the realist approach to social ills;

   realist paintings.

ˈrealist

/ ˈrɪəlɪst /

noun

1. a person who is aware of and accepts the physical universe, events, etc, as they are; pragmatist

2. an artist or writer who seeks to represent the familiar or typical in real life rather than an idealized, formalized, or romantic interpretation

3. philosophy a person who accepts realism

4. (modifier) of, relating to, or characteristic of realism or realists in the arts, philosophy, etc

   a realist school

Other Word Forms

• antirealist noun
• hyperrealist noun
• nonrealist noun
• prorealist adjective
• ultrarealist noun

Word History and Origins

Origin of realist¹

First recorded in 1595–1605; real ¹ + -ist; compare French réaliste

Example Sentences

Renowned as a queen of literary horror — her stories brim with ghosts, werewolves, zombie infants — here she reveals a realist side, journalistic yet intimate.

From Los Angeles Times

Rangers had negotiated ties with Panathinaikos and Viktoria Plzen in previous weeks and, while there was praise for getting through, the realists weren't blind to the luck they experienced along the way.

From BBC

Walt is in no sense an outlier here; he’s an authoritative voice of what we might call left-liberal “realist” foreign policy opinion.

From Salon

Yet if the war in Ukraine is over by then, Orban "the political realist" will be able to claim credit as the Western leader who warned that Ukraine cannot defeat the might of Russia.

From BBC

Tse steers us around to the notion of a certain intimacy they like to work at, a realist aesthetic that might be called the Morot house style.

From Los Angeles Times