51Թ

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real

1

[ree-uhl, reel]

adjective

  1. true; not merely ostensible, nominal, or apparent.

    the real reason for an act.

  2. existing or occurring as fact; actual rather than imaginary, ideal, or fictitious.

    a story taken from real life.

  3. being an actual thing; having objective existence; not imaginary.

    The events you will see in the film are real and not just made up.

  4. being actually such; not merely so-called.

    a real victory.

  5. genuine; not counterfeit, artificial, or imitation; authentic.

    a real antique;

    a real diamond;

    real silk.

  6. unfeigned or sincere: a real friend.

    real sympathy;

    a real friend.

  7. Informal.absolute; complete; utter.

    She's a real brain.

  8. Philosophy.

    1. existent or pertaining to the existent as opposed to the nonexistent.

    2. actual as opposed to possible or potential.

    3. independent of experience as opposed to phenomenal or apparent.

  9. (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.

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

  11. Mathematics.

    1. of, relating to, or having the value of a real number.

    2. using real numbers.

      real analysis; real vector space.

adverb

  1. Informal.very or extremely.

    You did a real nice job painting the house.

noun

  1. real number.

  2. the real,

    1. something that actually exists, as a particular quantity.

    2. reality in general.

real

2

[rey-ahl, re-ahl]

noun

plural

reals ,

plural

reales .

  1. a former silver coin of Spain and Spanish America, the eighth part of a peso.

real

3

[rey-ahl, re-ahl]

noun

  1. singular of reis.

real

1

/ ˈɪə /

adjective

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

  2. (prenominal) true; actual; not false

    the real reason

  3. (prenominal) deserving the name; rightly so called

    a real friend

    a real woman

  4. not artificial or simulated; genuine

    real sympathy

    real fur

  5. (of food, etc) traditionally made and having a distinct flavour

    real ale

    real cheese

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

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

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

    real property

  9. physics Compare image

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

  11. music

    1. (of the answer in a fugue) preserving the intervals as they appear in the subject

    2. denoting a fugue as having such an answer Compare tonal

  12. informal(intensifier)

    a real fool

    a real genius

  13. the genuine article, not an inferior or mistaken substitute

“Collins English Dictionary — Complete & Unabridged” 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

noun

  1. short for real number

  2. that which exists in fact; reality

  3. slangnot as a test or trial; in earnest

“Collins English Dictionary — Complete & Unabridged” 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

real

2

/ ˈ /

noun

  1. the standard monetary unit of Brazil, divided into 100 centavos

  2. a former coin of Portugal

“Collins English Dictionary — Complete & Unabridged” 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

real

3

/ reɪˈɑːl, ˈ /

noun

  1. a former small Spanish or Spanish-American silver coin

“Collins English Dictionary — Complete & Unabridged” 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012
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Usage

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.
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Other 51Թ Forms

  • realness noun
  • ˈ𲹱Ա noun
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51Թ History and Origins

Origin of real1

First recorded in 1400–50; Middle English real(le) “actual, having physical existence); (law) pertaining to goods or property,” from Old French reel, real and Medieval Latin “(law) pertaining to things rather than persons,” from Late Latin “actual, real,” equivalent to Latin re-, variant stem of ŧ “thing, matter, affair” + - -al 1

Origin of real2

First recorded in 1550–60; from Spanish: literally, “royal” (the coins being minted for the king), from Latin ŧ regal 1
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51Թ History and Origins

Origin of real1

C15: from Old French é , from Late Latin , from Latin ŧ thing

Origin of real2

ultimately from Latin ŧ regal 1

Origin of real3

C17: from Spanish, literally: royal, from Latin ŧ ; see regal 1
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Idioms and Phrases

Idioms

  1. for real,

    1. in reality; actually.

      You mean she dyed her hair green for real?

    2. true to fact; actual.

      The company's plans to relocate are for real.

    3. genuine; sincere.

      I don't believe his friendly attitude is for real.

In addition to the idiom beginning with real, also see for real; get real.
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Synonym Study

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.
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Example Sentences

Examples have not been reviewed.

Between witnessing their creativity in real time and consuming media like “The Rachel Zoe Project,” Nguyen decided to move to Los Angeles and begin his career as a professional wardrobe stylist.

From

In 2025, Latinos who are filming the state in moments of overreach — archiving injustice in real time — are adapting, extending and carrying forward Black witnesses’ work.

From

“One is a continuing resolution that isn’t even a real appropriations bill ... it’s just cementing the budget decisions that were made last year, and then the defense bill.”

From

“An end. A real end,” he said, asked what could be better than a ceasefire.

From

“Definitely don’t want to rule anything out... but there would be some obstacles that are real that are in the place of maybe preventing that from occurring.”

From

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Related 51Թs

Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023

Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.

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