REAL (reales, reis)

Pronunciation (US):

(GB):

IPA (US):

 Dictionary entry overview: What does real mean? 

• REAL (noun)
  The noun REAL has 3 senses:

1. any rational or irrational number

2. the basic unit of money in Brazil; equal to 100 centavos

3. an old small silver Spanish coin

  Familiarity information: REAL used as a noun is uncommon.

• REAL (adjective)
  The adjective REAL has 9 senses:

1. being or occurring in fact or actuality; having verified existence; not illusory

2. no less than what is stated; worthy of the name

3. not to be taken lightly

4. capable of being treated as fact

5. being or reflecting the essential or genuine character of something

6. of, relating to, or representing an amount that is corrected for inflation

7. having substance or capable of being treated as fact; not imaginary

8. (of property) fixed or immovable

9. coinciding with reality

  Familiarity information: REAL used as an adjective is familiar.

• REAL (adverb)
  The adverb REAL has 1 sense:

1. used as intensifiers; 'real' is sometimes used informally for 'really'; 'rattling' is informal

  Familiarity information: REAL used as an adverb is very rare.

 Dictionary entry details 

• REAL (noun)

Sense 1

Meaning:

Any rational or irrational number

Classified under:

Nouns denoting quantities and units of measure

Synonyms:

real; real number

Hypernyms ("real" is a kind of...):

complex number; complex quantity; imaginary; imaginary number ((mathematics) a number of the form a+bi where a and b are real numbers and i is the square root of -1)

Hyponyms (each of the following is a kind of "real"):

dot product; inner product; scalar product (a real number (a scalar) that is the product of two vectors)

rational; rational number (an integer or a fraction)

irrational; irrational number (a real number that cannot be expressed as a rational number)

Sense 2

Meaning:

The basic unit of money in Brazil; equal to 100 centavos

Classified under:

Nouns denoting quantities and units of measure

Hypernyms ("real" is a kind of...):

Brazilian monetary unit (monetary unit in Brazil)

Meronyms (parts of "real"):

centavo (a fractional monetary unit of several countries: El Salvador and Sao Tome and Principe and Brazil and Argentina and Bolivia and Colombia and Cuba and the Dominican Republic and Ecuador and El Salvador and Guatemala and Honduras and Mexico and Nicaragua and Peru and the Philippines and Portugal)

Sense 3

Meaning:

An old small silver Spanish coin

Classified under:

Nouns denoting possession and transfer of possession

Hypernyms ("real" is a kind of...):

coin (a flat metal piece (usually a disc) used as money)

• REAL (adjective)

Declension: comparative and superlative

Sense 1

Meaning:

Being or occurring in fact or actuality; having verified existence; not illusory

Synonyms:

existent; real

Context example:

Life is real! Life is earnest!

Similar:

actual (taking place in reality; not pretended or imitated)

historical (having once lived or existed or taken place in the real world as distinct from being legendary)

objective (emphasizing or expressing things as perceived without distortion of personal feelings or interpretation)

documentary ((of film, television, radio, or photography) depicting a real-life event using images or interviews with people involved in the event)

actual; factual (existing in act or fact)

Also:

echt; genuine (not fake or counterfeit)

concrete (capable of being perceived by the senses; not abstract or imaginary)

realistic (aware or expressing awareness of things as they really are)

sincere (open and genuine; not deceitful)

Attribute:

realism; reality; realness (the state of being actual or real)

Antonym:

unreal (lacking in reality or substance or genuineness; not corresponding to acknowledged facts or criteria)

Derivation:

reality (the state of being actual or real)

reality (the state of the world as it really is rather than as you might want it to be)

realness (the state of being actual or real)

Sense 2

Meaning:

No less than what is stated; worthy of the name

Context example:

it's no penny-ante job--he's making real money

Similar:

proper (having all the qualities typical of the thing specified)

true (rightly so called)

Antonym:

unreal (not actually such; being or seeming fanciful or imaginary)

Sense 3

Meaning:

Not to be taken lightly

Context example:

to the man sleeping regularly in doorways homelessness is real

Similar:

serious (concerned with work or important matters rather than play or trivialities)

Derivation:

reality (the state of being actual or real)

reality (the state of the world as it really is rather than as you might want it to be)

Sense 4

Meaning:

Capable of being treated as fact

Synonyms:

real; tangible

Context example:

his brief time as Prime Minister brought few real benefits to the poor

Similar:

concrete (capable of being perceived by the senses; not abstract or imaginary)

Derivation:

reality (the state of the world as it really is rather than as you might want it to be)

Sense 5

Meaning:

Being or reflecting the essential or genuine character of something

Synonyms:

actual; genuine; literal; real

Context example:

a genuine dilemma

Similar:

true (consistent with fact or reality; not false)

Derivation:

reality (the state of being actual or real)

reality (the state of the world as it really is rather than as you might want it to be)

realness (the state of being actual or real)

Sense 6

Meaning:

Of, relating to, or representing an amount that is corrected for inflation

Context example:

real wages

Domain category:

economic science; economics; political economy (the branch of social science that deals with the production and distribution and consumption of goods and services and their management)

Antonym:

nominal (of, relating to, or characteristic of an amount that is not adjusted for inflation)

Sense 7

Meaning:

Having substance or capable of being treated as fact; not imaginary

Synonyms:

material; real; substantial

Context example:

The wind was violent and felt substantial enough to lean against

Also:

material (derived from or composed of matter)

Attribute:

solidness; substantiality; substantialness (the quality of being substantial or having substance)

Derivation:

reality (the quality possessed by something that is real)

Sense 8

Meaning:

(of property) fixed or immovable

Context example:

real property consists of land and buildings

Similar:

tangible ((of especially business assets) having physical substance and intrinsic monetary value)

Sense 9

Meaning:

Coinciding with reality

Synonyms:

real; veridical

Context example:

perceptual error...has a surprising resemblance to veridical perception

Similar:

realistic (aware or expressing awareness of things as they really are)

Derivation:

reality; realness (the state of being actual or real)

• REAL (adverb)

Sense 1

Meaning:

Used as intensifiers; 'real' is sometimes used informally for 'really'; 'rattling' is informal

Synonyms:

rattling; real; really; very

Context example:

a rattling good yarn

 Context examples 

The UGR researcher warns that it is necessary to differentiate between the study of lying in a laboratory and in real life.

(The most reliable scientific model to date for detecting when a person is lying, based on thermography, University of Granada)

"This work is a real step toward understanding why certain building blocks are found in the proteins essential for life," said Kathy Covert, program director in NSF's Division of Chemistry.

(Pre-life building blocks spontaneously align in evolutionary experiment, National Science Foundation)

Miss Bates, in her real anxiety for Jane, could hardly stay even to be grateful, before she stept forward and put an end to all farther singing.

(Emma, by Jane Austen)

"I wonder if I shall ever be happy enough to have real lace on my clothes and bows on my caps?" said Meg impatiently.

(Little Women, by Louisa May Alcott)

It was not in Miss Crawford's power to talk Fanny into any real forgetfulness of what had passed.

(Mansfield Park, by Jane Austen)

Because the real Wiki-Wiki would have talked that way.

(Martin Eden, by Jack London)

No sunlight means no power, so there was real risk we might freeze to death.

(NASA's Juno Navigators Enable Jupiter Cyclone Discovery, NASA)

And yet it is so real with me, so entirely part of my very self, that I cannot help acting upon it.

(The Lost World, by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle)

The ability to process solar data in real time is important because flares erupting on the sun affect Earth over the course of minutes.

(Detecting solar flares in real time, National Science Foundation)

It's the first example of a plant's clock modulating growth in a natural environment, and having real repercussions for the plant.

(Sunflowers move from east to west, and back, by the clock, NSF)