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REFERENCE

realism

n.
US //ˈɹiəɫɪzm// UK //ɹˈiəlɪzəm// re·al·ism
  1. 1 practical attitude (n.)
    B2 Upper Intermediate

    the habit of accepting a situation as it is and being prepared to deal with it in a practical way.

    a pragmatic disposition characterized by the rejection of impractical or visionary ideals in favour of objective facts.

    Example

    We need a bit of realism when discussing the budget for the new house.

    Example

    The negotiator approached the talks with a sense of realism, acknowledging that neither side would achieve their primary objectives without significant compromise.
  2. 2 art and literature (n.)
    B2 Upper Intermediate

    a style of painting or writing that shows people and things as they really are in everyday life.

    an aesthetic style or movement that aims to represent subject matter truthfully, avoiding speculative fiction or exotic supernatural elements.

    Example

    The author is famous for the gritty realism of her novels about city life.

    Example

    Nineteenth-century realism in painting sought to depict the mundane lives of the working class with the same dignity previously reserved for historical or religious subjects.
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  1. 3 philosophy of existence (n.)
    C1 Advanced Academic Technical Science

    the belief that the world and physical objects exist even if no one is there to see them.

    the ontological position that an external reality exists independently of the mind, observation, or conceptual schemes.

    Example

    Scientific realism suggests that the atoms described by physics are real things.

    Example

    The debate between realism and instrumentalism remains central to the philosophy of science, particularly regarding the status of unobservable entities in theoretical physics.
    • objectivism
    • subjectivism
    • anti realism
  2. 4 philosophy of universals (n.)
    C2 Proficiency Academic Formal Religion

    the old idea that general concepts, like 'beauty' or 'redness', are real things that exist on their own.

    the medieval or Platonic doctrine that universals exist independently of the particular objects that manifest them.

    Example

    In the Middle Ages, scholars argued about realism and whether general ideas truly exist.

    Example

    The conflict between realism and nominalism shaped much of scholastic theology, as thinkers grappled with the nature of abstract properties and their relation to the physical world.
    • platonism
    • nominalism
Origin

From real + -ism.

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