Meanings
realist1
nounrealist (plural realists)
plural realists
- human sciencesAn advocate of realism; one who believes that matter, objects etc. have real existence beyond our perception of them.
Aristotle's own doctrine is far from clear. It was this lack of clarity that made possible the medieval controversy between nominalists and realists.
1946, Bertrand Russell, History of Western Philosophy, I.19 - artAn adherent of the realism movement; an artist who seeks to portray real everyday life accurately.
- One who believes in seeing things the way they really are, as opposed to how they would like them to be.
realist2
adjective
Synonyms & antonyms
Similar
Also see
Origin
- Proto-Indo-European*(H)reh₁-
- Proto-Indo-European*(H)reh₁ís
- Proto-Italic*reis
- Classical Latinrēs
- Proto-Indo-European*h₂el-
- Proto-Indo-European*h₂élisder.?
- Late Latinreālis
- Old Frenchree
- Middle Englishreal
- Englishreal
- Englishrealist
Translations
Arabic وَاقِعِيّ, وَاقِعِيّ
- وَاقِعِيّ (wāqiʕiyy)advocate of artistic realism
- وَاقِعِيّ (wāqiʕiyy)one who sees things as they are
Catalan realista, realista
- realistaadvocate of artistic realism
- realistaone who sees things as they are
Chinese Mandarin 現實主義者 /现实主义者, 實在論者 /实在论者
- 現實主義者 /现实主义者 (xiànshízhǔyìzhe)one who sees things as they are
- 實在論者 /实在论者 (shízàilùnzhe)one who sees things as they are
Czech realista, realista
- realistaadvocate of artistic realism
- realistaone who sees things as they are
Danish realist, realist
- realistadvocate of artistic realism
- realistone who sees things as they are
Dutch realist
- realistone who sees things as they are
French réaliste, réaliste
- réalisteadvocate of artistic realism
- réalisteone who sees things as they are
German Realist, Realistin
- Realistadvocate of artistic realism
- Realistinadvocate of artistic realism
- Realistone who sees things as they are
- Realistinone who sees things as they are
Hungarian realista, realista
- realistaadvocate of artistic realism
- realistaone who sees things as they are
Irish réalaí, duine réadúil
- réalaíadvocate of artistic realism
- duine réadúilone who sees things as they are
Polish realista, autentysta
- realistaadvocate of artistic realism
- autentystaadvocate of artistic realism
- realistaone who sees things as they are
Portuguese realista
- realistaadvocate of artistic realism
Russian реали́ст, реали́стка
- реали́ст (realíst)advocate of artistic realism
- реали́стка (realístka)advocate of artistic realism
- реали́ст (realíst)one who sees things as they are
- реали́стка (realístka)one who sees things as they are
Spanish realista, realista
- realistaadvocate of artistic realism
- realistaone who sees things as they are
Rhymes & wordplay
Anagrams
Cite this entry
APA
realist. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 2, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/realist
MLA
“realist.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/realist. Accessed November 2, 2026.
Chicago
WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “realist,” accessed November 2, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/realist.
Source: realist on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.