realism

Accepting facts and thinking about what is actually possible, rather than what you wish were true.

• We need some realism here.
• Her realism helped us make a workable plan.
• He balanced optimism with realism about the costs.

How to use it: realism about something (We need more realism about what we can afford.)

Similar words: practicality, pragmatism

Opposites: idealism

Common phrases: political realism, dose of realism, realism about something, show some realism

Showing people, places, or events as they are in real life, especially in art or stories.

• The film's realism impressed me.
• Her paintings combine realism with bright, unusual colours.
• Small details add realism to the story.

Similar words: lifelikeness, verisimilitude

Common phrases: photographic realism, social realism, realism in art, sense of realism