realism.

1. Practical attention to actual conditions and limitations rather than wishful assumptions.

2. An artistic approach representing recognizable life and conditions rather than idealizing them.

3. A philosophical view that the relevant objects or facts exist independently of perception or conception.

Use it for

Words that belong together

• practical realism
• realism of an assessment

On the page

The assessment’s realism came from its attention to the available resources.

Practical realism did not require abandoning every ambitious aim.

Usage notes

Primary category: literary / elevated general. Forms: Usually uncountable. Legacy lexical fields mirror sense 1 only. Use numbered sense fields for all meanings. Established modern English lexical item. No separate regional spelling or grammatical inflection entry. Writing functions: artistic orientation, figurative interpretation, life writing, narrative knowledge. Disciplines: literary writing, literary analysis, advanced general English. Commonness: moderately common.