real

¹ American  

[ree-uhl, reel] / ˈri əl, ril /

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 (opposed to virtual).

11. Mathematics.

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

    2. using real numbers.

       real analysis; real vector space.

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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.

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.

real ² American  

[rey-ahl, re-ahl] / reɪˈɑl, rɛˈɑl /

noun

plural

reals,

plural

reales

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

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real ³ American  

[rey-ahl, re-ahl] / reɪˈɑl, rɛˈɑl /

noun

1. singular of reis.

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real ¹ British  

/ ˈrɪəl /

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

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noun

1. short for real number

2. that which exists in fact; reality

3. slang not as a test or trial; in earnest

real ² British  

/ reˈal /

noun

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

2. a former coin of Portugal

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real ³ British  

/ reɪˈɑːl, reˈal /

noun

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

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real More Idioms  

More idioms and phrases containing real

• for real
• get real

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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.

Related Words

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.

Other Word Forms

• realness
  noun

Etymology

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 reālis “(law) pertaining to things rather than persons,” from Late Latin reālis “actual, real,” equivalent to Latin re-, variant stem of rēs “thing, matter, affair” + -ālis -al ¹

Origin of real²

First recorded in 1550–60; from Spanish: literally, “royal” (the coins being minted for the king), from Latin rēgālis regal ¹

Explanation

Something real is genuine. If you inherit some jewelry, you'll have to take it to an expert to know if those diamonds are real or just cubic zirconia, which looks like a diamond but isn't worth nearly as much. That seven footed monster your big brother used to tell you frightening stories about isn't real, and neither, sorry to say, is Santa Claus, because to be real, something has to actually exist. Real has roots in the Latin word res, meaning "thing." We also use real to mean "significant," like when we say something is a real problem, or when we say we're really, truly sorry about something. In old Spain or Brazil, a real is a coin.

Example Sentences

The occasion was an exposition called The Great Israeli Real Estate Event, which promotes property sales across Israel including parts of the West Bank.

From The Wall Street Journal • May 6, 2026

Of course, if Real were winning, it would be a different story.

From BBC • May 6, 2026

El Camino Real 1, Granada Hills 0: Jackson Sellz threw a three-hit shutout and Ryan Glassman drove in the game’s only run with an RBI single in the sixth.

From Los Angeles Times • May 5, 2026

The Portuguese manager has been one of the names linked to the Real Madrid job in the summer if the Spanish club decide to part ways with Alvaro Arbeloa.

From BBC • May 4, 2026

Real cities have been replaced by coordinates; real places by theoretical spaces.

From "The Invention of Science" by David Wootton

Related Words

• absolute
• actual
• authentic
• certain
• evident
• for real
• honest
• legitimate
• original
• palpable
• physical
• positive
• sincere
• solid
• substantial
• substantive
• true
• undeniable