pragmatist

From Ancient Greek πρᾶγμα (prâgma, “thing”).

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pragmatist (plural pragmatists)

1. One who acts in a practical or straightforward manner; one who is pragmatic; one who values practicality or pragmatism.

   A pragmatist would never plant such a messy tree, but I like its flowers.

2. One who acts in response to particular situations rather than upon abstract ideals; one who is willing to ignore their ideals to accomplish goals.

   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.

3. 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.
   • 2007, John Lachs, Robert Talisse, American Philosophy: An Encyclopedia, page 310:

     [S]ome pragmatists (such as William James) took a more pantheist or pandeist approach by rejecting views of God as separate from the world.

4. (politics) An advocate of pragmatism.
6. (linguistics, uncommon) One who studies pragmatics.

   Synonym: pragmatician

• pragma
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pragmatist (comparative more pragmatist, superlative most pragmatist)

1. (politics) Advocating pragmatism.
   • 2013, John Wright, Access to History for the IB Diploma: The Second World War and the Americas‎^[1], Hodder Education, →ISBN:

     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.

Borrowed from French pragmatisme.

pragmatist m (plural pragmatiști, feminine equivalent pragmatistă)

1. pragmatist

• pragmatic
• pragmatism

• “pragmatist”, in DEX online—Dicționare ale limbii române (Dictionaries of the Romanian language) (in Romanian), 2004–2025