Entry Word: realistic

Function: adjective

Meaning: 1 willing to see things as they really are and deal with them sensibly <our guidance counselor encouraged us to be more realistic in our job choices, so we reluctantly gave up the idea of becoming professional snake charmers>

Synonyms down-to-earth, earthy, hardheaded, matter-of-fact, practical, pragmatic (also pragmatical)

Related Words philistine, utilitarian; logical, no-nonsense, rational, reasonable, sane, sensible, sound; hard-boiled, unromantic, unsentimental; cynical, disillusioned

Near Antonyms fanciful, fantastic, imaginative; romantic, sentimental; illogical, insane, irrational, unreasonable; theoretical (also theoretic)

Antonyms idealistic, impractical, unrealistic, utopian, visionary

2 closely resembling the object imitated <those special effects look really realistic—Iʼd never guess they were all computer-generated> — see natural 2