reality

American  

[ree-al-i-tee] / riˈæl ɪ ti /

noun

• realities
  plural

1. the state or quality of being real.

2. resemblance to what is real.

3. a real thing or fact.

4. real things, facts, or events taken as a whole; state of affairs.

   the reality of the business world; vacationing to escape reality.

5. Philosophy.

   1. something that exists independently of ideas concerning it.

   2. something that exists independently of all other things and from which all other things derive.

6. something that is real.

7. something that constitutes a real or actual thing, as distinguished from something that is merely apparent.

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adjective

1. noting or pertaining to a TV program or film that portrays nonactors interacting or competing with each other in real but contrived situations, allegedly without a script.

   a popular reality show; reality TV.

idioms

1. in reality, in fact or truth; actually.

   brave in appearance, but in reality a coward.

reality British  

/ rɪˈælɪtɪ /

noun

1. the state of things as they are or appear to be, rather than as one might wish them to be

2. something that is real

3. the state of being real

4. philosophy

   1. that which exists, independent of human awareness

   2. the totality of facts as they are independent of human awareness of them See also conceptualism Compare appearance

5. actually; in fact

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Other Word Forms

Derived Forms

• nonreality
  noun
• proreality
  noun
• antireality
  adjective

Inflected Forms

Nouns

• realities
  plural

Etymology

Origin of reality

From the Medieval Latin word reālitās, dating back to 1540–50. See real ¹, -ity

Explanation

Reality is the way things actually are, not the way you might want them to be. Many TV shows claim to be reality, but they are really just pretend. The only actual reality is the life that happens every day. The noun reality harkens back to the late Latin realis, and later to the mid-16th Century Medieval Latin reālitās, referring to legal property matters, with the current meaning of "true existence" not coming about until 1647. Philosophers and scientists often debate about the true nature of reality, and a common philosophy is that a person’s reality is whatever he or she thinks it is. Or, as film director Tim Burton once said, "One person's craziness is another person's reality."

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

reality realities

Time and reality have a way of changing people’s perspectives, and I suspect many people will eventually regret some of the choices they made while they were angry.

From MarketWatch ● Aug. 21, 2026

It makes me happy because the reality of the dream isn't just for me, it's for all the women in the world.

From BBC ● Aug. 21, 2026

Defending the decision to host, Thai Foreign Minister Sihasak Phuangketkeow told reporters: "It's not about legitimacy, it's about reality."

From Barron's ● Aug. 20, 2026

“The U.A.E. taking action against direct trade and financial activity is important but the reality is that a great deal of indirect activity flows through banks in Dubai supporting Iran’s shadow-banking and illicit-financing operations.”

From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 19, 2026

In reality, Maggie and Kate Fox were fourteen and eleven when the rappings began, certainly old enough to know the difference between right and wrong.

From "American Spirits" by Barb Rosenstock

"Gaël and Sebastian are passionate documentary filmmakers, deeply committed to telling the stories of the people they meet and bearing witness to the realities of their lives."

From BBC ● Aug. 20, 2026

Harbour: Traditionally in art, there’s two realities in us — part of us is gods and part of us is animals.

From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 17, 2026

“What we love about Brasilia is how it holds both realities at once,” Roy said.

From MarketWatch ● Aug. 13, 2026

Zhu fused international market principles with domestic realities in a construct his officials called a “socialist market economy with Chinese characteristics.”

From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 12, 2026

The rebellions that were to shake music, however, were almost entirely divorced from political realities.

From "The Story of Music" by Howard Goodall

Related Words

• existence
• matter
• phenomenon
• real world
• realism
• sensibility
• truth