real-life
adjective
existing or happening in reality.
real-life
American
[ree-uhl-lahyf, reel-]
/ ˈri əlˌlaɪf, ˈril- /
adjective
real life
British
noun
Etymology
Origin of real-life
First recorded in 1830–40
Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
See Examples For:
Which, the more she sat with it, made it perfect as the title for a portrait of real-life disability rights activist Judy Heumann, who, while being in a wheelchair, made herself undismissable.
From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 9, 2026
A morally questionable reporter-turned TV host is the protagonist of Lance Oppenheim's "Primetime", based on the real-life NBC television show "To Catch a Predator" that unmasked paedophiles after luring them to staged meetings with minors.
From Barron's ● Sep. 6, 2026
Somehow my bird needed more attention than my real-life pet.
From Slate ● Sep. 6, 2026
Three real-life best friends demonstrate how to dress from the ground up with playful flowers, high-shine leather and, in one case, high heels with lily pads.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 2, 2026
Also, he reveled in the role of Cold War spy, a real-life James Bond.
From "Fallout: Spies, Superbombs, and the Ultimate Cold War Showdown" by Steve Sheinkin
I petted my bird by tapping my screen while my real life cat glared at me from a corner.
From Slate ● Sep. 6, 2026
It "bowls you over: it's real life written in a poetic way," user @thayslaaaa commented.
From Barron's ● Sep. 4, 2026
Her name is Anne-Laure Sellier, an academic in real life, here playing Béatrice Courte, a professor at Columbia University.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 3, 2026
Good thing “Coyote vs. Acme” reminds us just how seamlessly cartoons and real life can blend.
From Salon ● Aug. 30, 2026
I’d seen it happen in movies, so maybe it happened in real life, too.
From "The Old Willis Place" by Mary Downing Hahn
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.
