realist
1 of 2noun
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
Roger Shattuckrealist
2 of 2adjective
: 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
Joyce Carol Oates
Example Sentences
Recent Examples on the Web Mark Jenkins, Washington Post, 12 Aug. 2022 The sheer number and variety of submissions highlights PhotoVogue’s mission of an inclusive and diverse space for all visual aesthetics, from realist to fantastic, from documentary-inspired to glam and dreamy. Vogue, 2 Aug. 2022 But where so many of their films in the past concluded with at least a tiny sliver of solace, hope or grace piercing the social-realist gloom, Belgium’s preeminent filmmaking brothers are having none of that happy-clappy fluff this time time. Leslie Felperin, The Hollywood Reporter, 24 May 2022 But the novel occasionally falters in its efforts to imbue the characters with psychological depth; splitting the difference between a high-concept fairy tale and a realist novel is a hard trick to pull off. Julian Lucas, The New Yorker, 21 Feb. 2022 In honor of the festival’s milestone year, the Dardenne brothers were recognized for their social-realist drama about European refugees, Tori et Lokita. Sarah Grant, Rolling Stone, 28 May 2022 Tyler, who won the Pulitzer Prize in 1989, is at heart a 20th-century realist, a younger contemporary of John Updike, Richard Yates and Alice Munro. New York Times, 20 Mar. 2022 The realist will point out that Tiger Woods had every advantage through the first two rounds of the PGA Championship. Globe Staff, BostonGlobe.com, 20 May 2022 This idea owes much to the classical realist school of foreign policy, which, following the émigré political scientist Hans Morgenthau, maintains that nations have an animus dominandi, a will to dominate. Daniel Bessner, Harper’s Magazine , 22 June 2022 Liza Foreman, Variety, 15 Sep. 2022 In the realist novels of writers such as Balzac and Stendhal, for instance, cheer is associated with lower-class provincial men on the make, happily hustling and ascendant in a new capitalist world. Ian Beacock, The Atlantic, 2 Aug. 2022 All around the internet, food is being given the realist era treatment: a cinnamon bun oozes with icing, a chocolate chip cookie floats on a lavender background, and a box of Cheez-Its winks coquettishly atop a blue tapestry. Bon Appétit, 1 June 2022 Both are surrealist, in a way, and both are hyper-realist. Scott Roxborough, The Hollywood Reporter, 20 May 2022 Their first attempts borrowed from realist Western techniques, just as Albert Namatjira (1902-59), Australia’s first Indigenous painter of renown, had a generation before. Anthony Ham, Smithsonian Magazine, 13 May 2022 Neri then called Hilary Pecis, a realist painter of interiors and landscapes, and Megan Reed, a sculptor who had once been Neri’s student. Dodie Kazanjian, Vogue, 12 Mar. 2022 Its founder, Shōhei Imamura, was a luminary of Japanese New Wave cinema, known for his harshly realist films about prostitutes, bar hostesses, and straggling theatre troupes. Merve Emre, The New Yorker, 22 Feb. 2022 The sound was marked, lyrically, by concern for the working class and a realist approach to romance: there are no guarantees in life, so drive it like it’s stolen. Amanda Petrusich, The New Yorker, 17 Jan. 2022 See More
Noun
More placid but just as evocative are paintings, drifting from realist to mildly Impressionist, of quieter stretches of the river by Christina Blake, Jill Brabant, Debra Dartez and Georgia Nassikas. Mark Jenkins, Washington Post, 12 Aug. 2022 The sheer number and variety of submissions highlights PhotoVogue’s mission of an inclusive and diverse space for all visual aesthetics, from realist to fantastic, from documentary-inspired to glam and dreamy. Vogue, 2 Aug. 2022 But where so many of their films in the past concluded with at least a tiny sliver of solace, hope or grace piercing the social-realist gloom, Belgium’s preeminent filmmaking brothers are having none of that happy-clappy fluff this time time. Leslie Felperin, The Hollywood Reporter, 24 May 2022 But the novel occasionally falters in its efforts to imbue the characters with psychological depth; splitting the difference between a high-concept fairy tale and a realist novel is a hard trick to pull off. Julian Lucas, The New Yorker, 21 Feb. 2022 In honor of the festival’s milestone year, the Dardenne brothers were recognized for their social-realist drama about European refugees, Tori et Lokita. Sarah Grant, Rolling Stone, 28 May 2022 Tyler, who won the Pulitzer Prize in 1989, is at heart a 20th-century realist, a younger contemporary of John Updike, Richard Yates and Alice Munro. New York Times, 20 Mar. 2022 The realist will point out that Tiger Woods had every advantage through the first two rounds of the PGA Championship. Globe Staff, BostonGlobe.com, 20 May 2022 This idea owes much to the classical realist school of foreign policy, which, following the émigré political scientist Hans Morgenthau, maintains that nations have an animus dominandi, a will to dominate. Daniel Bessner, Harper’s Magazine , 22 June 2022 Adjective
Th project shows a vision of Arab Spain that is very realist, yet far more nuanced and more upbeat than most depictions, the two filmmakers said. Liza Foreman, Variety, 15 Sep. 2022 In the realist novels of writers such as Balzac and Stendhal, for instance, cheer is associated with lower-class provincial men on the make, happily hustling and ascendant in a new capitalist world. Ian Beacock, The Atlantic, 2 Aug. 2022 All around the internet, food is being given the realist era treatment: a cinnamon bun oozes with icing, a chocolate chip cookie floats on a lavender background, and a box of Cheez-Its winks coquettishly atop a blue tapestry. Bon Appétit, 1 June 2022 Both are surrealist, in a way, and both are hyper-realist. Scott Roxborough, The Hollywood Reporter, 20 May 2022 Their first attempts borrowed from realist Western techniques, just as Albert Namatjira (1902-59), Australia’s first Indigenous painter of renown, had a generation before. Anthony Ham, Smithsonian Magazine, 13 May 2022 Neri then called Hilary Pecis, a realist painter of interiors and landscapes, and Megan Reed, a sculptor who had once been Neri’s student. Dodie Kazanjian, Vogue, 12 Mar. 2022 Its founder, Shōhei Imamura, was a luminary of Japanese New Wave cinema, known for his harshly realist films about prostitutes, bar hostesses, and straggling theatre troupes. Merve Emre, The New Yorker, 22 Feb. 2022 The sound was marked, lyrically, by concern for the working class and a realist approach to romance: there are no guarantees in life, so drive it like it’s stolen. Amanda Petrusich, The New Yorker, 17 Jan. 2022 See More Word History
First Known Use
Noun
1817, in the meaning defined at sense 1
Adjective
1853, in the meaning defined above
Phrases Containing realist
realist
noun
as in pragmatist
Synonyms & Similar Words
Relevance
- pragmatist
- cynic
- fatalist
- nihilist
- hardnose
- defeatist
- naysayer
- anti-utopian
- knocker
- worrier
- pessimist
- worrywart
- Cassandra
- Jeremiah
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
- optimist
- idealist
- dreamer
- romantic
- romanticist
- visionary
- ideologue
- utopian
- sentimentalist
- fantast
- Pollyanna
- idealizer
- idealogue
- Don Quixote