What does "pragmatist" mean?

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

What is a synonym for "pragmatist"?

Common synonyms include: adherent, busybody, buttinsky, eclectic, empirical, existential.

adj, noun

adj, noun ·3 syllables ·Uncommon ·Advanced level

Noun

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
a person who takes a practical approach to problems and is concerned primarily with the success or failure of their actions wordnet
3
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."
4
an adherent of philosophical pragmatism wordnet
5
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.
"[S]ome pragmatists (such as William James) took a more pantheist or pandeist approach by rejecting views of God as separate from the world."

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Adjective

1
Advocating pragmatism.
"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."

"Is Tebboune a pragmatist or an ideologue?"

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

Data sourced from Wiktionary, WordNet, CMU, and other open linguistic databases. Updated March 2026.