What is difference between pragmatic and practical?

If it's practical, we know

• it works and
• is doable because
• it's tried and true. "Mosquito netting is a practical solution to stop malaria. The sleeping nets are affordable even for poor villages. Those villages with strict adherence have 95% reduction within a year."

If it's pragmatic, we think

• it should work and
• be doable because
• it's similar to something tried and true. "USDA food relief was thought to be a pragmatic solution to hunger in Bolivia. However, the free bags of grain were only partially successful. The grain was not a normal part of Bolivian diet. They used the grain as chicken food, mitigating the mistake by consuming more chicken."

The mnemonic is "practical comes from practice."

The new CEO who continues the successful cost reduction plan from last year is being practical. The new CEO who adopts a successful cost reduction plan of a rival company is being pragmatic because it should work, but it's never been tried here.

The two are commonly misused as interchangeable synonyms. They are both adjectives describing an effective action as opposed to an idealistic theory. They differ in how they apply history. Practical is a repeat of history, accepting the status quo, "what's working". Pragmatic is an extrapolation of history, applying similar circumstances without stretching, "what should work". "The goverment 10 year study of heterosexuals concluded that condoms are a practical protection against contracting AIDS. Other barrier contraceptives were also considered pragmatic."