noun
-
a person who is aware of and accepts the physical universe, events, etc, as they are; pragmatist
-
an artist or writer who seeks to represent the familiar or typical in real life rather than an idealized, formalized, or romantic interpretation
-
philosophy a person who accepts realism
-
(modifier) of, relating to, or characteristic of realism or realists in the arts, philosophy, etc
a realist school
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
Inflected Forms
Nouns
Etymology
Origin of realist
First recorded in 1595–1605; real 1 + -ist; compare French réaliste
Explanation
Some may say you never expect good things to happen, but maybe you’re just a realist, a person who uses facts and past events, rather than hopeful feelings and wishes, to predict the future. In art, Realist painters started a movement by depicting the world around them as it actually appeared, rather than painting flattering portraits of unattractive people and scenes too good to be true. You don't have to be an artist to be a realist — just consider limitations and anticipate that things that can go wrong will go wrong. The downside? Realists don't get to dream of the great things that could happen if everything goes right.
Vocabulary lists containing realist
Franklin Roosevelt, "Four Freedoms" (1941)
Looking to grow your vocabulary? Check out this interactive, curated word list from our team of English language specialists at Vocabulary.com – one of over 17,000 lists we've built to help learners worldwide!
Franklin Roosevelt, "Four Freedoms" (1941), List 2
Interested in learning more words like this one? Our team at Vocabulary.com has got you covered! You can review flashcards, quiz yourself, practice spelling, and more – and it's all completely free to use!
Part 2 Vocabulary (Unit 5)
Want to remember this word for good? Start your learning journey today with our library of interactive, themed word lists built by the experts at Vocabulary.com – we'll help you make the most of your study time!
Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
See Examples For:
Social realist dramas aren’t new and they include award-winning landmarks by Ken Loach and Chloé Zhao.
From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 14, 2026
Plagiarism claims against Arday were first made in July by Nathan Cofnas, a US academic and self-defined "race realist" whose research affiliation with a Cambridge college was terminated in 2024 amid racism accusations.
From Barron's ● Aug. 7, 2026
"Since day one of our evacuation, I have been a realist about the situation," he said.
From BBC ● Jul. 27, 2026
Even if you’re a realist, don’t let gloomy projections get you down.
From MarketWatch ● Jun. 15, 2026
Digges, Bruno, Benedetti and Gilbert were members of the tiny group of realist Copernicans.
From "The Invention of Science" by David Wootton
“We are realists, but we are not worrywarts either,” he said.
From MarketWatch ● Mar. 11, 2026
It’s a movie for dreamers, realists and romantics alike, the kind of film that’s so fantastic and so painfully human that its brilliant existence is reason enough to believe in good things.
From Salon ● Dec. 17, 2025
Even worse are the hardheaded dollars-and-cents realists of Wall Street who take this new reality as a given.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Dec. 2, 2025
And we need the realists and incrementalists, those who address the here and now.
From Slate ● Oct. 6, 2025
Even the nuclear realists, busy as their minds must be with calculations of acceptable levels of megadeath, would not want to overlook anything.
From "The Lives of a Cell" by Lewis Thomas
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
