epärealistisen

Epärealistisen is Finnish an adjective form meaning not realistic, or not in accordance with reality, and is commonly used to describe plans, expectations, or representations that are considered impractical, unattainable, or out of touch with constraints such as time, resources, or evidence.

In Finnish, epärealistinen is inflected according to standard adjective declension. The form epärealistisen is the genitive singular, used before a noun in genitive, for example epärealistisen suunnitelman kustannukset (“the costs of an unrealistic plan”). Other forms include epärealistinen (nominative singular), epärealistiset (nominative plural), and epärealistisia (partitive plural). The word can appear both attributively (epärealistinen aikataulu) and predicatively (Aikataulu on epärealistinen).

Etymologically, epärealistinen is a compound of the prefix epä- meaning negation and the stem realistinen, derived from realistinen, which in turn comes from the concept of realism. The prefix epä- is productive in Finnish and is used to negate many adjectives and nouns, producing antonyms that indicate absence or opposition to the described quality.

Usage and nuance: epärealistinen is employed across everyday language, journalism, business, and culture to critique goals, forecasts, or depictions that disregard practical limitations or evidence. It is distinct from merely optimistic or pessimistic judgments; it signals a misalignment with what is feasible or believable under given conditions. Related terms include epärealistisuus (unrealism) and realistinen (realistic).