# pragmatic

> English word · Adjective · IPA /pɹæɡˈmætɪk/ · frequency rank #15,248

## Definitions
1. Practical, concerned with making decisions and actions that are useful in practice, not just theory.
2. Philosophical; dealing with causes, reasons, and effects, rather than with details and circumstances; said of literature.
3. Interfering in the affairs of others; officious; meddlesome.

## Etymology
From Middle French pragmatique, from Late Latin pragmaticus (“relating to civil affair; in Latin, as a noun, a person versed in the law who furnished arguments and points to advocates and orators, a kind of attorney”), from Ancient Greek πραγματικός (pragmatikós, “active, versed in affairs”), from πρᾶγμα (prâgma, “a thing done, a fact”), in plural πράγματα (prágmata, “affairs, state affairs, public business, etc.”), from πράσσω (prássō, “to do”) (whence English practical).

## Easily confused with
- **prismatic** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/pragmatic-vs-prismatic)
- **pragmatism** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/pragmatic-vs-pragmatism)

## Common misspellings (14)
`pargmatic`, `ppragmatic`, `pragamtic`, `praggmatic`, `pragmaitc`, `pragmatci`, `pragmaticc`, `pragmattic`, `pragmmatic`, `pragmtaic`, `pramgatic`, `prgamatic`, `prragmatic`, `rpagmatic`

## Source
Compiled from Wiktionary via kaikki.org (CC BY-SA). Data vintage: 2026-05-06.
Canonical page: https://plainspell.com/en/word/pragmatic