I. ˈrē(ə)l, ˈriəl sometimes ˈril adjective
( often -er/-est )
Etymology: Middle English, real, actual, of or relating to things (in law), from Middle French, from Medieval Latin & Late Latin; Medieval Latin realis of or relating to things (in law), from Late Latin, real, actual, from Latin res thing, fact + -alis -al; akin to Sanskrit rai wealth, property
1. law
a. : of or relating to things themselves or to a jus in rem
a real right
real privileges
— opposed to personal
b. of a contract in Roman & civil law : existing, made, or accompanied by delivery of the object concerned — opposed to consensual
c. : of or relating to things (as lands, tenements) that are fixed, permanent, or immovable ; specifically : of or relating to real estate
real property
2.
a. : that is precisely what its name implies : not merely so called : truly possessing the essence of what it is called: as
(1) : authentic , genuine
was made of real gold
(2) : not merely apparent : actual , true
discovered the real reason
(3) : not artificial or counterfeit
a bouquet of real flowers
: natural
(4) : not illusory : indubitable , unquestionable
at last found real happiness
(5) : free from affectation or pretense
had a real interest in what was happening
is a real friend
b. : actually existing, occurring, or present in fact : corresponding to actuality
a story from real life
c.
(1) : having an objective independent existence
could hardly believe that what she saw was real and not a hallucination
(2) : relating to, based on, or concerned with individual objectively existent things in the physical world
real propositions — J.H.Newman
d.
(1) : that is neither derivative nor dependent : necessarily existent : not contingent : absolute
the concept of a real being as opposed to an accidental being
(2) : that is fundamental, intrinsic, and ultimate : not nominal or relative
real essences — J.S.Mill
e.
(1) : belonging to the set of real numbers
the real roots of an equation
(2) : concerned with or containing real numbers
real analysis
f. : not merely verbal or formal : significant
a real statement
g. of a name : not assumed by oneself nor applied to oneself by others in place of one's original name
refused to give her real name
h. of wages or income : measured by actual purchasing power
3. : exact as regards repetition of musical intervals in transposition
a real fugue
— compare tonal
4. of lace : handmade 1
Synonyms:
actual , true : these words are here considered only in their general uses and not in uses philosophical, aesthetic, or critical. So considered, they are often interchangeable. real may stress genuineness, especially identity or correspondence between appearance and essence
a real diamond
real people who had actually lived around here and who had been part of some real event — Dorothy Barclay
the difference between real and sham enjoyment — G.B.Shaw
real intelligence must recognize its own limitations — M.R.Cohen
actual stresses the fact of existence, of fidelity to the existent, as opposed to the nonexistent, hypothetical, abstract, or conjectural
the possible way — I am far from asserting it was the actual way — Havelock Ellis
a cultural — perhaps, for some, impossible — ideal and not the actual pattern of behavior, even in our own society — Weston La Barre
most men are potential autocrats, the strong and capable may become actual autocrats — V.L.Parrington
true states or implies conformity to the real or actual, especially as indicating or implying a standard, norm, or type
a true poet — A.T.Quiller-Couch
in the seventh and eighth centuries there were no true kings of England — Kemp Malone
of the three waterways surrounding Manhattan, only the Hudson River is a true river — American Guide Series: New York City
II. noun
( -s )
: something real:
a. : a particular reality ; especially : a mathematical real quantity
b. : reality in general — used with the
the real as contrasted with what is ideal
III. adverb
: very
was real glad to see her
— not often in formal use
IV. rāˈäl, rēˈ- noun
( plural reals -lz ; or re·ales rāˈä(ˌ)lās ; or reis ˈrās(h), -āz ; see numbered senses )
Etymology: Spanish, from real, adjective, royal, from Latin regalis — more at royal
1. or ri·al rēˈ- pl reals or reales or rials or ri·a·les
a. : a former basic monetary unit of Spain and Spanish-America
b. : an old silver coin representing one real
2. plural reals or reis
[Portuguese, from real, adjective, royal, from Latin regalis ]
a. : a Portuguese monetary unit before 1911 which became so depreciated that it was usually quoted in milreis
b. : a monetary unit of Brazil before 1942
V. adjective
1. : real-valued herein
functions of a real variable
2. of a particle : detectable — contrasted with virtual 1 herein
VI. noun
Etymology: real (IV)
1. : the basic monetary unit of Brazil
2. : a coin or note representing one real