✅ Realistic and pragmatic both describe people who are focused on real and practical things.

✅ Generally realistic describes someone who is not fanciful or idealistic. Sometimes this suggests someone who is pessimistic—although a realistic person is technically neither optimistic nor pessimistic (She was realistic about how difficult the house would be to renovate, which put us in a sour mood).

✅ Pragmatic describes someone who is focused on the practicality of doing something or making something happen (She had a pragmatic approach to interior design, taking into consideration people’s day-to-day needs).

✅ Realistic often suggests a worldview or state of mind, while pragmatic suggests less interest in big picture ideas and more interest in getting something done (He was very pragmatic about solving issues).

Describe a time when you had to be pragmatic about something with the help of Grammar Coach.

✅ Pessimistic describes a state of mind in which you expect only bad things to happen, or feel gloomy and unhopeful (I was pessimistic about my exam results).

✅ Fatalistic describes a state of mind in which you see events as inevitable or predetermined, so that your choices and efforts will make no difference (He is fatalistic about his job search).

✅ While both fatalistic and pessimistic usually suggest negative states of mind, they are actually pretty different in meaning.

✅ Pessimistic suggests expecting only bad things to happen, whereas fatalistic suggests that your choices will have no impact on the outcome of things (They were always pessimistic about making friends; While she was fatalistic about politics, she was generally pretty cheerful).

Try describing a fatalistic person with the help of Grammar Coach.

✅ Enthusiastic describes being full of lively and intense interest and often excitement (She was very enthusiastic about my cooking).

✅ Ebullient describes being so full of enthusiasm that it seems to bubble over (He was ebullient at the awards ceremony).

✅ Although both enthusiastic and ebullient describe a sense of interest, excitement, and fervor, ebullient, the less common of the two, suggests that these feelings are particularly intense (It was nice to see her so ebullient about the results).

We hope you’re as ebullient about these synonyms as we are!