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 Shattuck
: 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 OatesExamples of realist in a Sentence
Recent Examples on the Web
Graeme Wood, The Atlantic, 7 May 2025
Spanning nearly two decades of work, the exhibition, currently on view at The Whitney Museum of American Art is an assemblage of close to 50 portraits that reimagine the American realist tradition by centering Black subjects in moments of stillness, style, and sovereign presence.
—Najha Zigbi-Johnson, Essence, 30 Apr. 2025
Time, 21 May 2025
Is there a better balance to be found than obtained here between a realist concern for the national interest and a decent respect for human life, including brown, non-Christian life?
—Jessica T. Mathews, Foreign Affairs, 20 Dec. 2022
See All Example Sentences for realist
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Noun
During an intermission at the Tallinn opera, an older Estonian man caught me staring up at the sprawling, Soviet-era socialist realist ceiling mural, which depicts Communism triumphant.
—Graeme Wood, The Atlantic, 7 May 2025
Spanning nearly two decades of work, the exhibition, currently on view at The Whitney Museum of American Art is an assemblage of close to 50 portraits that reimagine the American realist tradition by centering Black subjects in moments of stillness, style, and sovereign presence.
—Najha Zigbi-Johnson, Essence, 30 Apr. 2025
Adjective
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
Is there a better balance to be found than obtained here between a realist concern for the national interest and a decent respect for human life, including brown, non-Christian life?
—Jessica T. Mathews, Foreign Affairs, 20 Dec. 2022
See All Example Sentences for realist
Cite this Entry
“Realist.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/realist. Accessed 5 Jun. 2025.
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