real-life

[ ree-uhl-lahyf, reel- ]
See synonyms for real-life on Thesaurus.com
adjective
  1. existing or happening in reality: real-life drama.

Origin of real-life

1
First recorded in 1830–40

Words Nearby real-life

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2024

How to use real-life in a sentence

  • Ah, how many hearts would rejoice if it were as easy to return on the track of Time in real life as it is to do so in a tale!

  • Valmond stood watching intently, and the people were very still, for this seemed like real life, and no burlesque.

  • They were both taken up, and then taken down, and recovered according to the usual custom in romances and real life.

    Newton Forster | Captain Frederick Marryat
  • "The beautiful shines through the dreariness, as it does in the real life people live," he objected, stubbornly.

    Blazed Trail Stories | Stewart Edward White
  • The Doctor thought this a capital idea for a vaudeville, but poor enough in real life, and doubted my success.

    Z. Marcas | Honore de Balzac

British Dictionary definitions for real life

real life

noun
    • actual human life, as lived by real people, esp contrasted with the lives of fictional or fantasy characters: miracles don't happen in real life

    • (as modifier): a real-life mystery

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