One who believes in realism; esp., one who maintains that generals, or the terms used to denote the genera and species of things, represent real existences, and are not mere names, as maintained by the nominalists.
An artist or writer who aims at realism in his work. See Realism, 2.
The pessimist complains about the wind; the optimist expects it to change; the realist adjusts the sails. William Arthur Ward
An idealist believes the short run doesn't count. A cynic believes the long run doesn't matter. A realist believes that what is done or left undone in the short run determines the long run. Sydney J. Harris
The leader has to be practical and a realist, yet must talk the language of the visionary and the idealist. Eric Hoffer
Anyone who doesn't believe in miracles is not a realist. David Ben-Gurion
I'm an eternal realist and the success rate for being an actor is pretty low. Tom Hiddleston
