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

1

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

realist paintings

realist fiction

2

: realistic, practical

a realist approach to the problem

Examples of realist in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web

Noun

Even realists who recognize their mortality tend to avoid talking about it because death is a downer. — Christina Wing, Fortune, 27 Oct. 2026

The middlebrow realist is a master technician, a superb replicator of experience, but neither more nor less than this. — B. D. McClay, New Yorker, 19 Oct. 2026

Adjective

For the better part of a decade, this leitmotif of cynical, realist resignation has cropped up in the most celebrated contemporary literary fiction. — Literary Hub, 13 Nov. 2026

Reviewers have embraced it as a big, sprawling, unapologetically old-fashioned social-realist novel, one that was worth the wait. — Mariella Rudi, Los Angeles Times, 10 Nov. 2026

Word History

First Known Use

Noun

1817, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Adjective

1832, in the meaning defined at sense 2

Phrases Containing realist

• photo-realist