realistic
If your friend says she is going to fly on wings made of wax, you might tell her to "be realistic!" What you mean is, "In the real world, that is not going to happen."
While you might really want to go to an Ivy League college, it's probably more realistic to apply to state schools if your grades aren't that good. A movie can be called realistic if it seems to represent life as it is. Do you ever wonder if reality TV is more realistic than scripted television? The jury is still out on that, but most people agree that if you're being realistic, what matters most about a TV show are its ratings.
Definitions of realistic
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aware or expressing awareness of things as they really are“a realistic description”“a realistic view of the possibilities”“a realistic appraisal of our chances”
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Synonyms:
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possible
capable of happening or existing
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practical
concerned with actual use or practice
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existent, real
being or occurring in fact or actuality; having verified existence; not illusory
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down-to-earth, earthy
sensible and practical
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hard-nosed, hardheaded, practical, pragmatic
guided by practical experience and observation rather than theory
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graphic, lifelike, pictorial, vivid
evoking lifelike images within the mind
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living
true to life; lifelike
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true to life, true-to-life
representing things or actions or conditions as they actually are
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real, veridical
coinciding with reality
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practical, virtual
being actually such in almost every respect
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Antonyms:
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unrealistic
not realistic
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impossible
not capable of occurring or being accomplished or dealt with
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impractical
not practical; not workable or not given to practical matters
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unreal
lacking in reality or substance or genuineness; not corresponding to acknowledged facts or criteria
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chimerical
produced by a wildly fanciful imagination
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delusive, false
inappropriate to reality or facts
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fantastic, wild
fanciful and unrealistic; foolish
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kafkaesque
characterized by surreal distortion and a sense of impending danger
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phantasmagoric, phantasmagorical, surreal, surrealistic
characterized by fantastic imagery and incongruous juxtapositions
- show more antonyms...
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possible
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representing what is real; not abstract or ideal“realistic portraiture”“a realistic novel”
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synonyms:
naturalistic
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representational
(used especially of art) depicting objects, figures,or scenes as seen
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representational
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of or relating to the philosophical doctrine of realism“a realistic system of thought”
Pronunciation
US
/ˌˈriəˌlɪstɪk/
UK
/rɪəˈlɪstɪk/
DISCLAIMER: These example sentences appear in various news sources and books to reflect the usage of the word ‘realistic'.
Views expressed in the examples do not represent the opinion of Vocabulary.com or its editors.
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