real

[ ree-uh l, reel ]

/ ˈri əl, ril /

adjective

true; not merely ostensible, nominal, or apparent: the real reason for an act.

existing or occurring as fact; actual rather than imaginary, ideal, or fictitious: a story taken from real life.

being an actual thing; having objective existence; not imaginary: The events you will see in the film are real and not just made up.

being actually such; not merely so-called: a real victory.

genuine; not counterfeit, artificial, or imitation; authentic: a real antique; a real diamond; real silk.

unfeigned or sincere: real sympathy; a real friend.

Informal. absolute; complete; utter: She's a real brain.

Philosophy.

existent or pertaining to the existent as opposed to the nonexistent.
actual as opposed to possible or potential.
independent of experience as opposed to phenomenal or apparent.

(of money, income, or the like) measured in purchasing power rather than in nominal value: Inflation has driven income down in real terms, though nominal income appears to be higher.

Optics. (of an image) formed by the actual convergence of rays, as the image produced in a camera (opposed to virtual).

Mathematics.

of, relating to, or having the value of a real number.
using real numbers: real analysis; real vector space.

adverb

Informal. very or extremely: You did a real nice job painting the house.

noun

real number.

the real,

something that actually exists, as a particular quantity.
reality in general.

Idioms for real

for real, Informal.

in reality; actually: You mean she dyed her hair green for real?
real; actual: The company's plans to relocate are for real.
genuine; sincere: I don't believe his friendly attitude is for real.

Origin of real

1400–50; late Middle English < Late Latin reālis, equivalent to Latin re-, variant stem of rēs thing + -ālis -al¹

synonym study for real

1–5. Real, actual, true in general use describe objects, persons, experiences, etc., that are what they are said or purport to be. That which is described as real is genuine as opposed to counterfeit, false, or merely supposed: a real emerald; real leather binding; My real ambition is to be a dentist. Actual usually stresses contrast with another state of affairs that has been proposed or suggested: The actual cost is much less; to conceal one's actual motive. True implies a perfect correspondence with actuality and is in direct contrast to that which is false or inaccurate: a true account of the events; not bravado but true courage. See also authentic.

usage note for real

The intensifying adverb real, meaning “very,” is informal and limited to speech or to written representations of speech: He drives a real beat-up old car. The adjective real meaning “true, actual, genuine, etc.,” is standard in all types of speech and writing: Their real reasons for objecting became clear in the discussion. The informal adjective sense “absolute, complete” is also limited to speech or representations of speech: These interruptions are a real bother.

OTHER WORDS FROM real

re·al·ness, noun

Words nearby real

reagan, ronald, reaganomics, reagent, reagin, reaginic antibody, real, real ale, real axis, real cost, real estate, real income

Example sentences from the Web for realness

But no spineless relativism is necessary to recognize that, for most human beings, realness comes in various flavors.

Atheist Philosopher Peter Boghossian’s Guide to Converting Believers |Michael Schulson |November 2, 2013 |DAILY BEAST
Mars further muscles through Cancer, and he is a warrior for realness.

What the Stars Hold for Your Week |Starsky + Cox |August 6, 2011 |DAILY BEAST
Though she is sent home, Mystique's attempt has gone down in Drag Race history and led to much more queen "realness."

RuPaul's Drag Race Dictionary |Jaimie Etkin |April 24, 2011 |DAILY BEAST
Are we so in thrall to "truthiness" that we need our exorcist movies to be dressed up with the patina of realness, as well?

What's Real in The Rite |Seth Colter Walls |January 31, 2011 |DAILY BEAST

But the realness and the bigness of the job here in London is simply oppressive.

The Life and Letters of Walter H. Page, Volume I |Burton J. Hendrick
That is, I knew in my mind, but I never imagined the realness of what would happen.

Category Phoenix |Boyd Ellanby
Its oppositions are no part of its realness; and therefore they can be overcome.

Practical Mysticism |Evelyn Underhill
The realness of that sacrifice of His stands out very vividly in the intensity of His feelings, of which we get only glimpses.

Quiet Talks with World Winners |S. D. Gordon
And I make not even the intellect side of this book, which is a Realness to me, without sweet fine sweatings of blood.

I, Mary MacLane |Mary MacLane

British Dictionary definitions for realness (1 of 3)

real ¹

/ (ˈrɪəl) /

adjective

existing or occurring in the physical world; not imaginary, fictitious, or theoretical; actual

(prenominal) true; actual; not false the real reason

(prenominal) deserving the name; rightly so called a real friend; a real woman

not artificial or simulated; genuine real sympathy; real fur

(of food, etc) traditionally made and having a distinct flavour real ale; real cheese

philosophy existent or relating to actual existence (as opposed to nonexistent, potential, contingent, or apparent)

(prenominal) economics (of prices, incomes, wages, etc) considered in terms of purchasing power rather than nominal currency value

(prenominal) denoting or relating to immovable property such as land and tenements real property Compare personal

physics Compare image (def. 2)

maths involving or containing real numbers alone; having no imaginary part

music

(of the answer in a fugue) preserving the intervals as they appear in the subject
denoting a fugue as having such an answerCompare tonal (def. 3)

informal (intensifier) a real fool; a real genius

the real thing the genuine article, not an inferior or mistaken substitute

noun

short for real number

the real that which exists in fact; reality

for real slang not as a test or trial; in earnest

Derived forms of real

realness, noun

Word Origin for real

C15: from Old French réel, from Late Latin reālis, from Latin rēs thing

British Dictionary definitions for realness (2 of 3)

real ²

/ (reɪˈɑːl, Spanish reˈal) /

noun plural reals or reales (Spanish reˈales)

a former small Spanish or Spanish-American silver coin

Word Origin for real

C17: from Spanish, literally: royal, from Latin rēgālis; see regal 1

British Dictionary definitions for realness (3 of 3)

real ³

/ (Portuguese reˈal) /

noun plural reis (rəjʃ)

the standard monetary unit of Brazil, divided into 100 centavos

a former coin of Portugal

Word Origin for real

ultimately from Latin rēgālis regal 1

Idioms and Phrases with realness

real

In addition to the idiom beginning with real

real McCoy, the

also see:

for real
get real

BROWSE DICTIONARY

Learning

real

adjective

adverb

noun

Idioms for real

Origin of real

synonym study for real

usage note for real

OTHER WORDS FROM real

Words nearby real

Example sentences from the Web for realness

British Dictionary definitions for realness (1 of 3)

adjective

noun

Derived forms of real

Word Origin for real

British Dictionary definitions for realness (2 of 3)

noun plural reals or reales (Spanish reˈales)

Word Origin for real

British Dictionary definitions for realness (3 of 3)

noun plural reis (rəjʃ)

Word Origin for real

Idioms and Phrases with realness

BROWSE DICTIONARY

Learning

real

adjective

adverb

noun

Idioms for real

Origin of real

synonym study for real

usage note for real

OTHER WORDS FROM real

Words nearby real

Words related to realness

Example sentences from the Web for realness

(adsbygoogle = window.adsbygoogle || []) .push({}); British Dictionary definitions for realness (1 of 3)

adjective

noun

Derived forms of real

Word Origin for real

British Dictionary definitions for realness (2 of 3)

noun plural reals or reales (Spanish reˈales)

Word Origin for real

British Dictionary definitions for realness (3 of 3)

noun plural reis (rəjʃ)

Word Origin for real

Idioms and Phrases with realness

British Dictionary definitions for realness (1 of 3)