pragmatic
adj.adj. dealing with things in a sensible and realistic way. You focus on what is practical and what works, rather than following strict rules or ideas.
adj. dealing with things sensibly and realistically in a way that is based on practical rather than theoretical considerations. Often follows a linking verb or precedes a noun.
She took a pragmatic approach to solving the problem.
The committee made a pragmatic decision to cut the budget now rather than risk a total collapse next year.
While the proposal was ideologically pure, the leadership opted for a more pragmatic strategy that would ensure the bill's passage through a divided parliament.
From Middle French pragmatique, from Late Latin pragmaticus (“relating to civil affair; in Latin, as a noun, a person versed in the law who furnished arguments and points to advocates and orators, a kind of attorney”), from Ancient Greek πραγματικός (pragmatikós, “active, versed in affairs”), from πρᾶγμα (prâgma, “a thing done, a fact”), in plural πράγματα (prágmata, “affairs, state affairs, public business, etc.”), from πράσσω (prássō, “to do”) (whence English practical).
Commonly modifies nouns like 'approach', 'solution', 'decision', or 'view'.
The pragmatic of the situationThe pragmatism of the situationLearners may incorrectly use the adjective form as a noun; the correct noun is 'pragmatism'.