I. adjective
COLLOCATIONS FROM OTHER ENTRIES
a genuine/real desire
▪
All her life she had a genuine desire to help the poor.
a proper/real understanding
▪
They lacked any real understanding of the subject.
a real advantage (= a definite advantage )
▪
The new system has some real advantages.
a real bargain
▪
In the market you can sometimes pick up a real bargain.
a real benefit
▪
To get some real benefit from the exercise, you should continue for at least half an hour.
a real challenge (= a difficult one )
▪
On Monday, Sharapova faced her first real challenge of the tournament.
a real fire (= one that burns wood or coal )
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There was a real fire blazing in the fireplace.
a real hassle (= used to emphasize that something is very annoying or causes a lot of problems )
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Carrying a heavy bag around all day is a real hassle.
a real impact informal (= a big impact )
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The film made a real impact on cinema audiences.
a real nightmare
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The situation with our neighbours is a real nightmare!
a real obstacle (= a serious one )
▪
The lack of oil and gas resources in Northeast Asia is a real obstacle to the region's economic development.
a real peach
▪
Jan’s a real peach .
a real possibility (= something that is quite likely )
▪
At this moment, a recession is a real possibility.
a real problem
▪
They quickly found that their real problem lay with marketing.
a real risk
▪
There is a real risk that there could be another war.
a real sense of sth (= a strong feeling )
▪
Children need to feel a real sense of belonging.
a real strength
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The play's real strength is the way it explores relationships.
a real threat
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These measures pose a real threat to the future of agriculture.
a real thrill
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Playing in such an important game must be a real thrill.
a real worry
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It's a real worry that he is so far away.
a real/awful/terrible etc nuisance
▪
The dogs next door are a real nuisance.
a real/clear need (= one that really exists )
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There is a real need for after-school care in our area.
a real/genuine concern
▪
Pensions are a genuine concern to many people.
a realistic/real/serious option (= something that you can really choose to do )
▪
I wanted to start my own business but financially it was never a realistic option.
a real/serious alternative
▪
Co-operation offers the only real alternative.
a real/true hero
▪
The real heroes were the guys who fought in the front lines.
genuine/real admiration
▪
‘Where did you learn to do that?’ she asked with genuine admiration.
genuine/real amusement
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He laughed out loud with genuine amusement.
genuine/real enthusiasm
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She talked about the project with genuine enthusiasm.
genuine/real pleasure
▪
She smiled with genuine pleasure.
in a (very) real sense (= used to emphasise that a statement or description is true )
▪
The truth is that in a very real sense most families in Britain are not poor.
little real
▪
The laboratory tests are of little real value.
real ale
real anger
▪
There is real anger about the amount of money that has been wasted.
real drag
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It’s a real drag having to travel so far to work every day.
real emotion (= very strong emotion )
▪
There was real emotion in his voice.
real estate agent
real estate
▪
a fall in the value of real estate
real gentleman
▪
Mr Field was a real gentleman .
real live
▪
We were so excited to see real live elephants.
real love
▪
You could see real love in their eyes.
real power
▪
The real power lay with the President’s advisers.
real property
real satisfaction (= great satisfaction )
▪
There is real satisfaction in helping other people to overcome their problems.
real smoothie
▪
Kyle’s a real smoothie .
real stinker
▪
This cold I’ve got is a real stinker .
real talent
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She has real talent and with a little help she could go far.
real treat
▪
When we were kids, a trip to the beach was a real treat .
real wages (= a calculation of how much your wages will buy, usually compared to how much you were able to buy in the past )
▪
Average real wages rose by 26% between 1919 and 1929.
real/genuine commitment
▪
The job demands real commitment to teaching.
real/genuine excitement
▪
A goal two minutes from the end provided the game's only genuine excitement.
real/genuine hardship
▪
Prolonged illness can cause real hardship for many families.
sb's real parents (= their biological parents )
▪
I was thrilled to have found my real parents.
sb’s real/true identity
▪
The true identity of the author was not revealed until 100 years later.
sb’s real/true motive
▪
What were his true motives for offering her the job?
significant/real progress
▪
Significant progress has been made in reducing nuclear weapons.
the real purpose
▪
What was the real purpose of their visit?
the real reason
▪
What do you think was the real reason for their decision?
the real solution (= the only good solution )
▪
The real solution to the waste problem is to produce much less waste.
the real value (= its value after considering inflation )
▪
The real value of their salaries has fallen.
true/real happiness (= having all the qualities which happiness should have )
▪
At last, she found true happiness with a man she loved.
true/real joy
▪
How can I find true joy in life?
your true/real self (= your real character )
▪
At last he had revealed his true self.
COLLOCATIONS FROM CORPUS
■ NOUN
ale
▪
The Campaign now has more paid-up members than it did at the height of the 1970s real ale revival.
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Left to its own devices, real ale stays in a drinkable condition for about a week.
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Draught Tartan, Export, Harp and Carlsberg deluxe, real ale .
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Good wine list, many excellent malt whiskies, real ale .
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There was always the real ale to stave off the effects of ageing for a while.
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It was too fizzy and too gassy to drink and I acquired a taste for real ale .
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Variety of wines, whisky and real ale .
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Excellent wine list, over 70 whiskies, real ale .
estate
▪
It will Bteach real estate agents about the customs of minority groups.
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There are also special rules for depreciation of real estate .
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The real estate descended to the heir in accordance with rules laid down by statutes of 1833 and 1859.
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Today, he has built a successful real estate business for him-self.
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Corrie M.. Anders, Examiner real estate editor, covers real estate and housing.
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Other ventures have failed, but now she wants to sell real estate .
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But as more bonds were backed by real estate , institutional investors were learning.
life
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And besides, ladies in real life don't feel those things, you know.
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In real life , neither proceeds in the linear, additive fashion envisioned in workbooks.
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Swoon and Basic Instinct aren't real life , remember?
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If she had happened to be a woman out of touch with real life , that would have bored him.
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A: Usually from things that happen in real life , from things that my three kids have done.
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In real life the onlookers are part of the activity and usually join in.
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And one could tell from the restful silence in the car that they shared a very real life together.
possibility
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In time, a world divided into trading blocks would be a real possibility .
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With Bobbie, unsound judgments were not a real possibility .
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Mutual respect is a real possibility in such activities.
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With all this brass flying overhead, conflicting orders were a real possibility .
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Where this situation is a remote but real possibility escape or rescue sets should be stored for emergency use.
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More recently, the threat of Quebec's secession confronted the country with the very real possibility of political breakup.
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Since the province was a hotbed of gentry resistance to the emancipation, confrontation looked a real possibility .
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Easier divorce makes ending an unsatisfactory marriage a real possibility .
problem
▪
It's in the middle where their real problems lie.
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We got a real problem on our hands.
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The real problem was that many students felt unable to ask for help when they were in difficulty.
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Toy problems may converge in a reasonable amount of time; real problems may magnify the task beyond reasonable limits.
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But it is not the level of pay that is the real problem .
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This scenario demonstrates a real problem with a significant population of individuals who suffer from severe and persistent mental illness.
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However, there are now real problems and the solutions to them can no longer be delayed or fudged.
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This creates a real problem in the life of a young adult.
reason
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This thoughtless response is so much easier than confronting the real reasons , as it has an inevitability about it.
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Because I know the real reason she wants to leave.
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For an ugly moment I had been convinced she had guessed the real reason for my avid professional interest in Bill Francis.
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But the real reason I went was this: I just felt like seeing something stupid.
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This was just an excuse: the real reason they wanted to come was that they very much needed food at home.
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Basically, she knew the real reason why she shunned the group was because of her shyness.
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However, as soon as we reached our new vantage I understood the real reason why he had wanted to move.
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The individual whose own income is going up has no real reason to incur the opprobrium of this discussion.
thing
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Choreographically, James was the real thing .
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So on your beefy splurge night, enjoy the real thing .
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Now, his songs are intended as the real thing , but widely assumed to be some sort of parody.
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We enjoy these tasks for themselves; it is a pleasure to do real things in a real house.
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How disappointed would you be if you went to a game and they made you watch a video instead of the real thing ?
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But we ended up with nothing but the taste of real things on our tongues.
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The real thing is much more complex.
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It turns out that one is a knockoff, the other, the real thing .
time
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I said we needed a weekend, real time , for both of us, and you said give it time.
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Although they require considerable self-training, such networks are potentially very fast and can work in real time .
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Video and other images can be captured, manipulated and displayed in real time .
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In other words, this is all happening in real time .
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This is the so-called imaginary direction of time , at right angles to real time.
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It is the pace at which things work, played out in real time .
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Why doesn't one just stick to the ordinary, real time that we understand?
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The neural network approach requires fewer resources than conventional statistical methods, and further, can process data in real time .
world
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To assume that he responds directly to data from the real world is to oversimplify the relationship between his inputs and outputs.
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The real world would not be so forgiving.
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Looking back, that square was my gateway to the real world - and the gate could only work one way.
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In the real world nature has an answer for every question.
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I sit at the bar and watch the real world go by.
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No reality, he wrote, only images masquerading as reality, only dreams masquerading as the real world .
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In the real world of business, marketing and sales people do not treat customers as resistors.
PHRASES FROM OTHER ENTRIES
be a (real) piece of work
the real McCoy
▪
"Is it a Rolex watch?" "Yes, it's the real McCoy ."
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The dress had a designer label, but I couldn't tell if it was the real McCoy or a cheap imitation.
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The moment I smelled the cigar, I knew it was the real McCoy .
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This is genuine malt whiskey - the real McCoy .
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He has yet to prove, though, that this patch is the real McCoy , the birthplace of a hot-spot plume.
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Walter stayed in the North, felt at home there, so his books are authentic - the real McCoy .
EXAMPLES FROM OTHER ENTRIES
▪
Real commitment is needed from everyone on the team if we're going to make this project work.
▪
real leather
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All of the characters are based on real people.
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Are those flowers real or artificial?
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He's never had a real job.
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He didn't show any real regret for the suffering he had caused.
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He sounds like a real jerk.
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His problems are very real . I don't think you should laugh at him.
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Is that a real diamond?
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Jack isn't their real father.
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Jane's been a real friend to me over the years.
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Marilyn Monroe's real name was Norma Jean Baker.
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Now that's real coffee!
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People call him Baz, but his real name is Reginald.
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She's a real tomboy!
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She was clearly in real pain.
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So what's the real reason you were late?
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The real issue is how can we help prevent heart disease?
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The house is a real mess.
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The noise is becoming a real problem.
EXAMPLES FROM CORPUS
▪
In the developed countries the effects have been stagnant wages and high real interest rates.
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My new firm gave me the chance to make a real difference.
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Someday, I think, it will evolve into a place with real golf spirit.
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Sometimes this happens with a fishing style, small improvements, slight changes. but no real leaps forward.
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This is, of course, just what happens in a real tree.
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When Phil started in Dayton you were watching real people talk about things they were really concerned about.
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You will have real choice as to how your pension payments are invested.
II. adverb
COLLOCATIONS FROM CORPUS
■ ADJECTIVE
good
▪
This was real good of you, Clarence.
▪
Some people do it real good .
▪
I thought you did real good this morning.
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I feel real good about his marketing skills.
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A lot of guys do real good with the two hours you spend on the court each day.
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You did real good , Bob.
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The team needed it and I felt real good up there, real confident.
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Lissen, and lissen real good , chink boy.
nice
▪
Me: Much of the neighborhood is, and they keep it up real nice , Neighborhood Watch and all.
■ VERB
get
▪
A lot of commanders flying these missions liked to get real close to get a good look.
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They get real intense, real soon.
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I got real serious about it.
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Everybody got real excited about this otter and started running back and forth, sort of following it upriver.
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When it got older it got real fat and started to growl at me.
EXAMPLES FROM OTHER ENTRIES
▪
Carla's little boy is real cute.
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He got up real close to the bear and took a picture.
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I think it was real sweet that she called me herself.
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The sidewalk was real wet and slippery.
EXAMPLES FROM CORPUS
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He was real sensitive during the dinner, and so was Ann.
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I felt something real heavy on my chest.
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I know my kids real well.
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I remember all this part real clear.
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I tried to pray, real hard I tried.
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Maybe I just twisted it real bad.
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This was real good of you, Clarence.
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You got to get a permit for those, and the permits are real expensive, okay?