pragmatist

[ prag-muh-tist ]

/ ˈpræg mə tɪst /

a person who is oriented toward the success or failure of a particular line of action, thought, etc.; a practical person.

an advocate or adherent of philosophical pragmatism.

of, relating to, or characteristic of pragmatism.

Origin of pragmatist

First recorded in 1630–40; pragmat(ic) + -ist

an·ti·prag·ma·tist, noun, adjective

A pragmatist and a moderate, she serves as a role model for other Blue Dog women running for election in Red states.

Never Bet Against Senator Heidi Heitkamp, North Dakota’s Rising Star |Sandra McElwaine |January 23, 2014 |DAILY BEAST
He's a conservative, but not a purist; he's a conviction politician—and a pragmatist too.

A Thinner Chris Christie Still Faces Big Political Challenges |Robert Shrum |May 10, 2013 |DAILY BEAST
Obama took to it in his own way, as a pragmatist, a centrist, a man who believes in compromise.

Bernard-Henri Lévy on Barack Obama’s Three Revolutions |Bernard-Henri Lévy |October 30, 2012 |DAILY BEAST
Bowles is a committed centrist, a fiscal conservative, and a pragmatist.

The Only Guy Who Can Save Obama |Doug Schoen |September 29, 2010 |DAILY BEAST

I wish we would stop seeing him as either the prophet who will deliver us or the pragmatist who will deny us.

Obama's Cautious Gay Strategy |Timothy Patrick McCarthy |April 18, 2010 |DAILY BEAST
Thus the pragmatist's reliance on facts does not carry him beyond the psychic sphere; his facts are only his personal experiences.

Winds Of Doctrine |George Santayana
They simply assume that no pragmatist CAN admit a genuinely theoretic interest.

The Meaning of Truth |William James
Had his question been about truth, only a pragmatist could have told him the particular go of it.

Pragmatism |William James
This is the pragmatist's view of the nature of all assertions and opinions.

The Sources Of Religious Insight |Josiah Royce
The pragmatist theory that “truth” is a belief which works well sometimes conflicts with common-sense and not with logic.

The philosophy of B*rtr*nd R*ss*ll |Various