Meaning & use
pragmatism
Last updated
Meanings
noununcountable
A sensible, realistic way of dealing with things based on what works rather than on fixed ideas.
Grammar: Used without a: she handled the crisis with pragmatism.
Patterns
- with pragmatism
- pragmatism over something
The mayor's pragmatism won over voters who were tired of slogans.
Business success often depends on pragmatism rather than perfect plans.
Her pragmatism showed when she chose the cheaper repair that would last.
noununcountabletechnical
A school of philosophy that tests the truth of ideas by their practical effects.
Grammar: Often capitalized when naming the movement; no article.
William James is closely linked with American pragmatism.
In a philosophy class, we compared pragmatism with idealism.
Pragmatism argues that a belief is useful if it helps us act well.
Common combinations
- political pragmatism
- Political pragmatism led the two parties to compromise on the budget.
- hard-headed pragmatism
- Her hard-headed pragmatism kept the project on schedule.
- a streak of pragmatism
- Beneath his dreams, there was a streak of pragmatism.
- pragmatism over ideology
- The council chose pragmatism over ideology in fixing the roads.
- American pragmatism
- American pragmatism shaped many early theories of education.
Synonyms and how they differ
- practicality
- Practicality describes how workable something is, whereas pragmatism describes a person's or group's attitude to solving problems.
- realism
- Realism means seeing things as they are, while pragmatism goes further and chooses actions for results.
- expediency
- Expediency often suggests doing what is convenient even if it is not quite right, so it is more negative than pragmatism.
- common sense
- Common sense is everyday good judgment and sounds less deliberate than pragmatism.
Opposites
Word family
- pragmatic adjective
- dealing with things in a practical, realistic way
- pragmatist noun
- a practical person or follower of pragmatism
- pragmatically adverb
- in a practical way
- pragmatics noun
- the study of how context affects meaning in language
Commonly confused: pragmatism or practicality?
pragmatism vs practicality
Practicality is about whether a thing is useful or workable; pragmatism is an attitude or approach.
Practice
The negotiators set aside their principles and reached a deal through ___.
Choose one answer.
Pragmatism means putting practical results first, which fits setting principles aside. Idealism is the opposite, and the others do not describe striking a workable deal.
Make it your own
Write a sentence using “pragmatism”, then check it and compare it with the examples above.