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realist

[ree-uh-list] /ˈri ə lɪst/
noun
1.
a person who tends to view or represent things as they really are.
2.
an artist or a writer whose work is characterized by realism.
3.
Philosophy. an adherent of realism.
adjective
4.
of or relating to realism or to a person who embodies its principles or practices:
the realist approach to social ills; realist paintings.
Origin of realist
1595-1605
1595-1605; real1 + -ist; compare French réaliste
Related forms
antirealist, noun, adjective
hyperrealist, noun
nonrealist, noun
prorealist, adjective, noun
ultrarealist, noun
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2016.
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Examples from the Web for realist
Contemporary Examples
Historical Examples
  • More and more as a realist he devoted himself to the presentation of character at the expense of plot.

  • "They don't have much choice," Captain Feldman said, always the realist.

    Zen Jerome Bixby
  • Whether or not realistic fiction shrinks from the unpleasant depends also on the particular nature of the realist.

  • In the first place, it does not mean that Greek art is what we call ‘naturalist’ or ‘realist’.

  • What puzzled Philip was that this fabricator of "stories" for the newspaper should call himself a "realist."

    That Fortune Charles Dudley Warner
British Dictionary definitions for realist

realist

/ˈrɪəlɪst/
noun
1.
a person who is aware of and accepts the physical universe, events, etc, as they are; pragmatist
2.
an artist or writer who seeks to represent the familiar or typical in real life rather than an idealized, formalized, or romantic interpretation
3.
(philosophy) a person who accepts realism
4.
(modifier) of, relating to, or characteristic of realism or realists in the arts, philosophy, etc: a realist school
Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition
© William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins
Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012
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Word Origin and History for realist
n.

c.1600, in philosophy, from real (adj.) + -ist, and cf. French réaliste. Also see realism.

Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2010 Douglas Harper
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