pragmatist
/pɹˈæɡmətɪst/
Word Rarity
Very rare
Frequency: Zipf frequency 2.48 in modern English
15
Scrabble Score
10
Letters
3
Syllables
8
Unique Chars
Meaning
noun
One who acts in a practical or straightforward manner; one who is pragmatic; one who values practicality or pragmatism.
noun
One who acts in response to particular situations rather than upon abstract ideals; one who is willing to ignore their ideals to accomplish goals.
noun
One who belongs to the philosophic school of pragmatism; one who holds that the meaning of beliefs is the actions they entail, and that the truth of those beliefs consists in the actions they entail, successfully leading a believer to their goals.
noun
An advocate of pragmatism.
noun
One who studies pragmatics.
adj
Example Sentences
- "A pragmatist would never plant such a messy tree, but I like its flowers."
- "I'm not a thief, I am a pragmatist. I need this bread to feed my family."
- "We cannot trust him not to lie for his own gain: he's an opportunist and a pragmatist."
- "[S]ome pragmatists (such as William James) took a more pantheist or pandeist approach by rejecting views of God as separate from the world."
- "Historians also suggest that Roosevelt was a pragmatist in foreign affairs, in that his policies were determined by practical consequences rather than by any philosophy."
Etymology
From Ancient Greek πρᾶγμα (prâgma, “thing”).