realpolitik

noun, re·al·po·li·tik often capitalized \rā-ˈäl-ˌpō-li-ˌtēk\

: a system of politics based on a country's situation and its needs rather than on ideas about what is morally right and wrong

Full Definition of REALPOLITIK

: politics based on practical and material factors rather than on theoretical or ethical objectives

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German, from real actual + Politik politics

First Known Use: 1914

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