realm
Americannoun
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realms
plural
-
a royal domain; kingdom.
the realm of England.
-
the region, sphere, or domain within which anything occurs, prevails, or dominates.
the realm of dreams.
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the special province or field of something or someone.
the realm of physics; facts within the realm of political scientists.
noun
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a royal domain; kingdom (now chiefly in such phrases as Peer of the Realm )
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a field of interest, study, etc
the realm of the occult
Synonym Usage
See kingdom.
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
Inflected Forms
Nouns
Etymology
Origin of realm
First recorded in 1250–1300; Middle English realme, reaume, Old French reialme, from Latin regimen “guidance, direction, rule,” influenced by Old French reial “royal” ( see origin at royal)
Explanation
A realm is an area that is ruled by something. If you are a controlling cook who doesn’t like anyone to do anything else in the kitchen, then the kitchen is your realm. Realm comes from the French for kingdom, but since there aren’t so many kings or queens left in the world, you’ll more often find it referring to non-royal spheres. That could be the sphere of a special kind of knowledge, like the realm of biology, or the political realm. Or it could be an area dominated by some group. Little Italy was famously the realm of the mafia; Hollywood is the realm of film stars.
Vocabulary lists containing realm
Vocabulary from "Stop Expecting Games to Build Empathy" by Julie Muncy
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100 SAT words Beginning with "R"
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Beowulf vocabulary
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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:
"The study shows that you can achieve that kind of highly useful precision and accuracy into the historical realm."
From Science Daily ● Sep. 30, 2026
And Mylette Nora’s costumes artfully conjure both the underworld and the spiritual realm.
From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 17, 2026
Once a realm of life becomes a “domain” for military activity, it’s all but inevitable that weapons will be deployed to protect it.
From Slate ● Sep. 17, 2026
For now, both options are well within the realm of fantasy, though the former is much less so.
From Salon ● Sep. 16, 2026
It was a good thing Llewelyn’s acorn brooch kept him invisible, because he stuck his head out the window the whole time, shouting, “What great metal trees this realm has!”
From "The Way to Rio Luna" by Zoraida Cordova
We look to be back in the realms of a two-horse race and the two horses have experienced jockeys now, not two Old Firm apprentices like Russell Martin and Wilfried Nancy.
From BBC ● Jul. 31, 2026
Miyazaki’s tales also tend to immerse us in supernatural domains existing parallel to our own, as if reality masks more ethereal, life-affirming realms.
From Salon ● Jul. 30, 2026
In few other realms of history has the contribution of laboratory science been so revolutionary as in the study of the bubonic plague.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jun. 12, 2026
When asked about future “Hell’s Kitchen” projects — including a film adaptation — Keys laughed and said she “can’t talk too much,” but that the team is exploring various realms of possibility.
From Los Angeles Times ● May 26, 2026
It would be dangerous, traveling into the forest now, when the four realms would soon rise to the peak of their powers.
From "The Undead Fox of Deadwood Forest" by Aubrey Hartman
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.
