realist

1 of 2

noun

re·​al·​ist ˈrē-ə-list 

plural realists

1

: a person who recognizes what is real or possible in a particular situation : one who accepts and deals with things as they really are

a political realist

She considers herself a realist when it comes to parenting.

2

: a person (such as a writer or painter) who adheres to a style of realism by representing things in a way faithful to nature or to real life

Chekhov was essentially more of a realist than Dostoevski, whose force often lay in a strong proclivity to melodrama …

—Roger Shattuck

realist

2 of 2

adjective

: in the style of realism : faithful in representation to nature or to real life

realist paintings

Though a number of Dahl's most engaging stories, particularly in his early career, are cast in a realist mode, his reputation is that of a writer of macabre, blackly jocose tales …

—Joyce Carol Oates

Examples of realist in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web

Noun

Shahn was known as a social realist: a painter of hardscrabble life who registered every spasm and twitch of the body politic, from the Great Depression to Vietnam. —Zachary Fine, New Yorker, 24 June 2025

Prioritization is a realist strategy, and what keeps realists up at night is the threat of a rival great power controlling an economically vital part of the world. —Jennifer Lind, Foreign Affairs, 24 June 2025

Adjective

Prioritization is a realist strategy, and what keeps realists up at night is the threat of a rival great power controlling an economically vital part of the world. —Jennifer Lind, Foreign Affairs, 24 June 2025

Instead, Kissinger’s State Department was dominated by Cold War concerns that relied on a realist approach to foreign policy and focused on great power politics that eschewed concerns like human rights. —Time, 21 May 2025

Word History

First Known Use

Noun

1817, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Adjective

1853, in the meaning defined above

Phrases Containing realist

• photo-realist