1
as in pragmatic
willing to see things as they really are and deal with them sensibly
high schoolers who need to be more realistic in their career choices, as so few people end up as rock stars
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2
as in living
closely resembling the object imitated
those special effects look really realistic—I'd never guess they were all computer-generated
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Recent Examples of realistic
But designing such realistic snakeskin is nothing short of an art form.
—
Catharine Malzahn, Glamour, 24 June 2025
Once the Indiana Pacers all-star suffered an Achilles injury in the first quarter of Game 7 on Sunday night, so did his team’s realistic chances of winning a NBA title against the Thunder.
—Mac Engel, Fort Worth Star-Telegram, 24 June 2025
Concluding that the document was likely produced at the height of the Cold War, when an attack of this kind represented a realistic threat, Simmons read on, eager to learn how people in the 1950s were supposed to react.
—Jack Beresford, MSNBC Newsweek, 24 June 2025
At least investors are being realistic about Crescent Capital’s dimming prospects of late, driving shares down to a wild 23% discount to NAV.
—Brett Owens, Forbes.com, 15 June 2025
See All Example Sentences for realistic
Catharine Malzahn, Glamour, 24 June 2025
Once the Indiana Pacers all-star suffered an Achilles injury in the first quarter of Game 7 on Sunday night, so did his team’s realistic chances of winning a NBA title against the Thunder.
—Mac Engel, Fort Worth Star-Telegram, 24 June 2025
Concluding that the document was likely produced at the height of the Cold War, when an attack of this kind represented a realistic threat, Simmons read on, eager to learn how people in the 1950s were supposed to react.
—Jack Beresford, MSNBC Newsweek, 24 June 2025
At least investors are being realistic about Crescent Capital’s dimming prospects of late, driving shares down to a wild 23% discount to NAV.
—Brett Owens, Forbes.com, 15 June 2025
See All Example Sentences for realistic
Recent Examples of Synonyms for realistic
Adjective
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If the Islamic Republic could be replaced with something more pragmatic and less ideologically driven than Khomeini’s revolutionary doctrine, few in the Arab Gulf would mourn.—
H.A. Hellyer,
Time,
30 June 2025
-
All of this is to say that centrism and pragmatic politics are no means dead in the Democratic Party.—
The Editorial Board,
Chicago Tribune,
27 June 2025
Adjective
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The hatch falls open with a bang that has Dina on high alert, but not a living (or semi-living) soul emerges.—
Sara Netzley,
EW.com,
5 May 2025
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This is a living example of how businesses can harness AI and microgrids to increase operational efficiency, support sustainability goals and better prepare for energy volatility.—
Frederic Godemel,
Forbes.com,
10 June 2025
Adjective
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Sierra Designs recently updated their award-winning Mobile Mummy, a practical and comfortable wearable sleeping bag originally released in 2014.—
Wendy Altschuler,
Forbes.com,
1 July 2025
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Today’s Canadian nationalism, by contrast, arises from darker and more practical concerns.—
Stephen Marche,
The Atlantic,
1 July 2025
Adjective
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This naturalistic garden has almost half native plants and half non-native, but is an oasis in the middle of the city.—
Janet B. Carson,
Arkansas Online,
29 June 2025
-
For decades, Kahneman and Gary Klein, a psychologist who researches naturalistic decision-making, had a running disagreement about whether human intuition could be trusted.—
Gabriel Snyder,
MSNBC Newsweek,
25 June 2025
Adjective
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But their back-and-forth reveals a natural chemistry between the two writers.—
Megan McCluskey,
Time,
27 June 2025
-
Plums make their presence known along roadsides and in natural areas in spring when fragrant white blooms cover their bare branches.—
Kim Toscano,
Southern Living,
27 June 2025
Adjective
-
The petite gateau may be the most lifelike of them all, with a deep red color and a furry velvet exterior.—
Jenn Harris,
Los Angeles Times,
30 June 2025
-
To build machines with lifelike autonomy, researchers are turning to a new concept: autonomous physical intelligence (API).—
New Atlas,
New Atlas,
29 June 2025
Adjective
-
The title track – the last song on the album – does follow a Boss-esque blueprint of vivid storytelling (with the serious true-life recounting of a near-fatal car crash as a teen), but the music leans more Killers sheen than Springsteen muscularity.—
Melissa Ruggieri,
USA Today,
22 June 2025
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Haim’s new album gives vivid shape to a hard-to-define phase. Recipes: Try our recipe for rye shortcakes with strawberry-mandarinquat compote and citrus labneh. Games: Get our free daily crossword puzzle, sudoku, word search and arcade games.—
Jaclyn Cosgrove,
Los Angeles Times,
21 June 2025
Adjective
-
With brother Nelson, Louis devised a system whereby special drones with three-dimensional wind sensors can be flown near, or even into, the cones of tornadoes to take such critical measurements low to the ground.—
Jim Clash,
Forbes.com,
28 June 2025
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But a main source of those data is being abruptly shut off On television broadcasts and forecast maps, hurricanes appear as two-dimensional swirling vortices, belying their extremely complex three-dimensional structure.—
Andrea Thompson,
Scientific American,
27 June 2025
Cite this Entry
“Realistic.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/realistic. Accessed 5 Jul. 2025.
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