realist

American  

[ree-uh-list] / ˈri ə lɪst /

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.

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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 British  

/ 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

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Other Word Forms

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

Etymology

Origin of realist

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

Example Sentences

Downing was “adept at switching between the material and the spiritual,” a realist willing to wink at disagreements and who favored “subtlety, sophistication and restraint.”

From The Wall Street Journal • Mar. 11, 2026

The 54-year-old Dyche, who was previously in charge at Everton and Burnley, said he was a "realist" about his precarious situation and spoke like a manager resigned to his fate.

From Barron's • Feb. 12, 2026

Ms Peggie's claims also include the allegation that she suffered "direct discrimination" because of her "sex realist beliefs" and that she faced "harassment or alternatively victimisation" relating to the internal disciplinary process carried out.

From BBC • Dec. 1, 2025

I am a realist who has no use for hope-peddlers and happy-pill sellers in this time of existential crisis.

From Salon • Nov. 12, 2025

If she had been asked and had chosen to answer the question of whether she was cowardly or not, she would have said that she was a realist.

From "I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings" by Maya Angelou