reality

American  

[ree-al-i-tee] / riˈæl ɪ ti /

noun

plural

realities

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

• antireality adjective
• nonreality noun
• proreality noun

Etymology

Origin of reality

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

Example Sentences

At the centre of this resurgence are reality TV-style trot audition programmes, where tens of thousands of aspiring singers compete for stardom.

From BBC

“In a landscape where dating apps encourage efficiency and optionality, longing becomes a way of resisting closure,” writes one, and that yearning “allows feelings to exist without being immediately tested against reality.”

From Salon

Now he’s helping Americans around the country bet on everything from the Federal Reserve’s interest rate decisions to who will win the latest season of the reality TV show “Survivor.”

From The Wall Street Journal

While little world attention is being paid to daily realities in the West Bank, locals say the risk of widespread unrest is rising.

From BBC

Increasingly, though, they use AI to distort reality.

From BBC

Related Words

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