realistic

[ree-uh-lis-tik]

SEE MORE SYNONYMS FOR realistic ON THESAURUS.COM

adjective

interested in, concerned with, or based on what is real or practical: a realistic estimate of costs; a realistic planner.

pertaining to, characterized by, or given to the representation in literature or art of things as they really are: a realistic novel.

resembling or simulating real life: a duck hunter skilled at making realistic decoys.

Philosophy. of or relating to realists or realism.

Nearby words

Origin of realistic

First recorded in 1855–60; realist + -ic

SYNONYMS FOR realistic

1. pragmatic, common-sense, hard-headed, sensible.

SEE MORE SYNONYMS FOR realistic ON THESAURUS.COM

Related forms

re·al·is·ti·cal·ly, adverban·ti·re·al·is·tic, adjectivean·ti·re·al·is·ti·cal·ly, adverbhy·per·re·al·is·tic, adjective

non·re·al·is·tic, adjectivenon·re·al·is·ti·cal·ly, adverbo·ver·re·al·is·tic, adjectiveo·ver·re·al·is·ti·cal·ly, adverbpro·re·al·is·tic, adjectivepseu·do·re·al·is·tic, adjectivequa·si-re·al·is·tic, adjectivequa·si-re·al·is·ti·cal·ly, adverbsem·i·re·al·is·tic, adjectivesem·i·re·al·is·ti·cal·ly, adverbul·tra·re·al·is·tic, adjectiveun·re·al·is·tic, adjectiveun·re·al·is·ti·cal·ly, adverb

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2019

Examples from the Web for unrealistic

Expectations, reasonable or unrealistic, remain so even if we impose them on ourselves.
Why Singles Should Say ‘I Don’t’ to The Self-Marriage Movement|Tim Teeman|December 30, 2014|DAILY BEAST
It's not unrealistic to think they might have had a love affair if he had wanted it or known how to ask.
Alfred Hitchcock’s Fade to Black: The Great Director’s Final Days|David Freeman|December 13, 2014|DAILY BEAST
One of the most romantic—and, some would say, unrealistic—phenomena of American culture is the concept of “the one.”
Swimming Owls, Jane Krakowski’s Peter Pan Live! Audition, and More Viral Videos|The Daily Beast Video|December 7, 2014|DAILY BEAST
Barbie is an unrealistic, unhealthy, insulting representation of female appearance.
Sexism Begins in the Toy Aisle|Nancy Kaffer|November 29, 2014|DAILY BEAST

He made only one unrealistic request as he sought to keep others from becoming infected and began a fight for his life.
From Ebola Country to NYC’s Subways|Michael Daly|October 25, 2014|DAILY BEAST
Such deviations were as unrealistic and sterile as Blanquism, against which the nineteenth century Marxists inveighed so heavily.
Government in Republican China|Paul Myron Anthony Linebarger
So I decided to explore his unrealistic beliefs about the state of affairs in Europe.
He Walked Around the Horses|Henry Beam Piper
They are not as small as unrealistic persons claiming superior private information would demand.
State of the Union Addresses of Franklin D. Roosevelt|Franklin D. Roosevelt

British Dictionary definitions for unrealistic

unrealistic

adjective

not realisticunrealistic expectations

realistic

adjective

showing awareness and acceptance of reality

practical or pragmatic rather than ideal or moral

(of a book, film, etc) depicting or emphasizing what is real and actual rather than abstract or ideal

of or relating to philosophical realism

Derived Formsrealistically, adverb

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Word Origin and History for unrealistic

unrealistic

adj.

1865, from un- (1) "not" + realistic. Related: Unrealistically.

realistic

adj.

"true to reality" (of art, literature, etc.), 1829; "involving a practical view of life" (opposed to idealistic), 1831; from realist + -ic. Related: Realistically.

realistic

adjective

RELATED CONTENT

RELATED WORDS

Nearby words

Origin of realistic

Examples from the Web for unrealistic

unrealistic

adjective

realistic

adjective

unrealistic

realistic