Realistically

Part of speech: adverb

Definitions

1. In a manner based on facts and practical understanding rather than hopes or imagination
2. In a way that emphasizes practicality and factual understanding rather than idealism or fantasy
3. In a manner that prioritizes straightforwardness and practicality over unrealistic expectations or dreams

Etymology: "Realistically" is a plain formation: the adjective "realistic" plus the adverb ending "-ally," which English attaches to adjectives ending in "-ic" (as in "basically" or "tragically"). The adjective itself is built from "real," which came into English through Old French "reel" and Medieval Latin "reālis," and the suffix "-istic," which joins "-ist" (a person who practises or believes something) and "-ic" (having the quality of). The core of "real" is the Latin "rēs," meaning "thing" or "matter," which gave rise to "reālis," relating to actual things rather than to names or ideas. That is the root of the word's modern contrast with abstraction: to be "real" is to be a thing that exists, not merely an idea. "Realistic" carries that sense into the arts and thought, where an approach that depicts or accepts things as they actually are, rather than as one might wish them to be, earns the label.

Synonyms: practically, realistically

Antonyms: unrealistically