/ree"euh list/ , n.
1. a person who tends to view or represent things as they really are.
2. an artist or a writer whose work is characterized by realism.
3. Philos. an adherent of realism.
adj.
4. of or pertaining to realism or to a person who embodies its principles or practices: the realist approach to social ills; realist paintings.
[ 1595-1605; REAL 1 + -IST; cf. F réaliste ]