real

1 of 5

adjective

re·​al ˈrē(-ə)l 

1

a

: having objective independent existence

unable to believe that what he saw was real

b

: not artificial, fraudulent, or illusory : genuine

real gold

also : being precisely what the name implies

a real professional

c(1)

: occurring or existing in actuality

saw a real live celebrity

a story of real life

(2)

: of or relating to practical or everyday concerns or activities

left school to live in the real world

(3)

: behaving or presented in a way that feels true, honest, or familiar and without pretension or affectation

… That was the tragedy of Nurse Jackie … Great nurse. Flawed human being, and an irreparable one. That's also what made her real, and relatable, and what Falco brought so fully to the role …

—Verne Gay

On the afternoon of May 28, resident Rick Grant told The Enterprise as he waited with other grievers in the town hall's town-board room for his turn before a board, "We all want the same thing: Be real on the taxes, do a proper assessment, a fair assessment."

—The Altamont Enterprise

For every follower of the PEANUTS comics knows about the Little Red-Haired Girl, the character who intrigues a shy Charlie Brown. Hem he does, and haw he will, and every reader fidgets, too, knowing that such moments are utterly human and all too real.

—Alysia Gray-Painter

We're living through strange times in America, but that hasn't stopped Chrissy Teigen from being her wonderfully authentic self on social media—from showing up to husband John Legend's Instagram Live concert in a towel to sharing some real talk about childbirth.

—Abby Gardner

Coach Tucker has always just kept it real with me from the start. … He's been one of the most honest coaches. He's not about the B.S., hype and all that.

—Kameron Allen

"The thing that makes college basketball so fascinating to me is that almost everyone's a hair away from the dream …. And, let's keep it real, a lot of them are in school just for the experience needed to get to the next level."

—LL Cool J

Do you actually think you left popularity contests behind in high school? Please, get real.

—Jillian Mackenzie

(4)

: existing as a physical entity and having properties that deviate from an ideal, law, or standard

a real gas

compare ideal sense 1b

d

: complete, utter

a real fiasco

e

: fundamental, essential

f

: measured by purchasing power

real income

real dollars

g(1)

: belonging to or having elements or components that belong to the set of real numbers

the real roots of an equation

a real matrix

(2)

: concerned with or containing real numbers

real analysis

(3)

: real-valued

real variable

2

: of or relating to fixed, permanent, or immovable things (such as lands or tenements)

real property

3

of a particle : capable of being detected compare virtual sense 4

realness noun

real

2 of 5

adverb

chiefly US, informal

: very, really

—used as an intensifier

It was a good furnace all last winter, they didn't have a single problem with it: it ran real quiet …

—Garrison Keillor

… the magazine isn't real sure who its readers are …

—Tom Carson

real

3 of 5

noun (1)

: a real thing

especially : a mathematically real quantity

real

4 of 5

noun (2)

re·​al rā-ˈäl 

1

plural reais ˈrāsh 

ˈrās,

ˈrāzh,

ˈrāz

or reis also reals : the basic monetary unit of Brazil see Money Table

2

plural reales or reis ˈrāsh 

ˈrās,

ˈrāzh,

ˈrāz

: a former monetary unit and coin of Portugal

real

5 of 5

noun (3)

re·​al rā-ˈäl 

plural reales rā-ˈä-(ˌ)lās  or reals

: a former monetary unit and coin of Spain and its possessions

Phrases

for real

1

: genuine

couldn't believe the threats were for real

2

: genuinely good or capable of success (as in competition)

not yet sure if this team is for real

3

: in earnest : seriously

fighting for real

Synonyms

Adjective

• genuine
• true
• authentic
• honest
• actual
• original

Adverb

• very
• damn
• extremely
• damned
• incredibly
• terribly
• really
• too
• highly
• so
• badly
• that
• full
• seriously
• far
• much
• super
• such
• most
• desperately
• jolly
• especially

Examples of real in a Sentence

Adjective

The movie is based on real events.

The detective Sherlock Holmes is not a real person.

He has no real power; he is just a figurehead.

The battle scenes in the movie seemed very real to me.

The team has a real chance at winning.

There is a very real possibility that we will be moving to Maine.

In real life, relationships are not perfect.

The actor looks taller on TV than he does in real life.

He's always daydreaming and seems to be out of touch with the real world.

What is his real name?

Adverb

We had a real good time.

The water is real warm.

We went to bed real late.

Recent Examples on the Web

Adjective

Jordan Campbell: What Filipe Luis has created at Flamengo is a real testament to what having a clear coaching vision can do. —The Athletic Staff, New York Times, 28 June 2025

The person behind the schoolboy video, which defended Duterte, claimed to the news agency that the views shared were collected from real students. —Cecilia Hult, Fortune, 28 June 2025

Adverb

Everything outside may be going to hell, but Sunny Side of the Doc might be the non-fiction world’s only real happy place right now. —Damon Wise, Deadline, 24 June 2025

Trust me, old Daddy, put a stop to that real quick. —Andrea Wurzburger, People.com, 22 June 2025

Noun

From my perspective, Dell Tech World 2025 was a key progress report from one of the companies that’s central to a broader redefinition of edge computing, AI infrastructure and — maybe most critically — the process of making enterprise AI real. —Patrick Moorhead, Forbes.com, 5 June 2025

To use but one example, one that combines the real with the hypothetical, a few years ago the New York Times reported that over 500 million Indians lacked indoor plumbing. —John Tamny, Forbes.com, 21 Apr. 2025

Word History

Etymology

Adjective

Middle English, real, relating to things (in law), from Anglo-French, from Medieval Latin & Late Latin; Medieval Latin realis relating to things (in law), from Late Latin, real, from Latin res thing, fact; akin to Sanskrit rayi property

Noun (2)

Portuguese, from real royal, from Latin regalis

Noun (3)

Spanish, from real royal, from Latin regalis — more at royal

First Known Use

Adjective

14th century, in the meaning defined at sense 1a

Adverb

1718, in the meaning defined above

Noun (1)

circa 1626, in the meaning defined above

Noun (2)

1951, in the meaning defined at sense 2

Noun (3)

1555, in the meaning defined above

Phrases Containing real

• all too real
• be in for a (big/real) surprise
• for real
• get real
• in real life
• kept it real
• one's true/real self
• real estate
• real estate agent
• real focus
• real image
• real-life
• real live
• real number
• real part
• real presence
• real talk
• real time
• real-valued
• real-world
• the inside/straight/real skinny
• the real deal
• the real McCoy
• the real thing

Rhymes for real

• abele
• alkyl
• anneal
• appeal
• cartwheel
• conceal
• congeal
• coquille
• corneal
• cornmeal
• flywheel
• foveal

Kids Definition

real

1 of 4 adjective

re·​al ˈrē(-ə)l 

ˈri(-ə)l

1

: of, relating to, or made up of land and buildings

real property

2

a

: not artificial or fake : genuine

real leather

also : being exactly what the name implies

a real professional

b

: not imaginary : actual

real life

c

: belonging to or containing elements that belong to the set of real numbers

an equation with two real solutions

3

: absolute sense 1a, complete

there's a real surprise at the end

realness noun

real

2 of 4 adverb

informal

: very entry 2 sense 1

we had a real good time

real

3 of 4 noun

re·​al

rā-ˈäl

plural reals or reales

-ˈäl-ās

: an old silver coin of Spain

real

4 of 4 noun

re·​al rā-ˈäl 

plural reals or reis

ˈrāsh,

ˈrās,

ˈrāzh,

ˈrāz

1

: the basic unit of money of Brazil

2

: a coin or bill representing one real

Etymology

Adjective

Middle English real "real, relating to things," from early French real (same meaning), derived from Latin res "thing, matter" — related to rebus, republic

Legal Definition

real

adjective

1

a

: of or relating to real property

a real action

see also real property at property

b

in the civil law of Louisiana : attached to a thing rather than a person

a real obligation is transferred along with the thing to which it is attached

see also real right compare personal

2

: actual

3

: adjusted for inflation especially to reflect actual purchasing power

real income

Etymology

Adjective

Anglo-French, concerning land, property, or things (rather than persons), from Middle French, from Medieval Latin and Late Latin; Medieval Latin realis relating to things (in law), from Late Latin, actual, from Latin res thing, fact