Word family noun realism realist reality unreality realization adjective real unreal realistic ≠ unrealistic verb realize adverb real really realistically ≠ unrealistically
From Longman Dictionary of Contemporary Englishrealreal1 /rɪəl/ ●●● S1 W1 adjective 1 importantBASIC something that is real exists and is important There is a real danger that the disease might spread. We need to tackle the real problems of unemployment and poverty. There is no real reason to worry.2 not artificialREAL/NOT FALSE OR ARTIFICIAL something that is real is actually what it seems to be and not false or artificial OPP fake a coat made of real fur She had never seen a real live elephant before. Artificial flowers can sometimes look better than the real thing.► see thesaurus at genuine3 not imaginaryREAL/NOT IMAGINARY something that is real actually exists and is not just imagined The children know that Santa Claus isn’t a real person. Dreams can sometimes seem very real. Things don’t happen quite that easily in real life.4 → the real world5 true [only before noun]REAL/NOT FALSE OR ARTIFICIAL actual and true, not invented That’s not her real name. What was the real reason you quit your job?6 feelings a real feeling or emotion is one that you actually experience and is strong SYN genuine There was a look of real hatred in her eyes. I got a real sense of achievement when my work was first published. 7 right qualities [only before noun]REAL/NOT FALSE OR ARTIFICIAL a real thing has all the qualities you expect something of that type to have I remember my first real job. Simon was her first real boyfriend.SPOKEN PHRASES8 for emphasis [only before noun]VERY used to emphasize how stupid, beautiful, terrible etc someone or something is Thanks – you’ve been a real help. The house was a real mess.9 → for real10 → are you for real?11 → get real!12 → keep it real13 BFPEmoney [only before noun] a real increase or decrease in an amount of money is one you calculate by including the general decrease in the value of money over a period of time a real increase of 6% in average wages The average value of salaries has fallen in real terms (=calculated in this way).Examples from the Corpus
real• You will have real choice as to how your pension payments are invested.• Now that's real coffee!• Real commitment is needed from everyone on the team if we're going to make this project work.• Is that a real diamond?• My new firm gave me the chance to make a real difference.• Jack isn't their real father.• Jane's been a real friend to me over the years.• Someday, I think, it will evolve into a place with real golf spirit.• His problems are very real. I don't think you should laugh at him.• In the developed countries the effects have been stagnant wages and high real interest rates.• The real issue is how can we help prevent heart disease?• He sounds like a real jerk.• He's never had a real job.• Sometimes this happens with a fishing style, small improvements, slight changes. but no real leaps forward.• real leather• The house is a real mess.• People call him Baz, but his real name is Reginald.• Marilyn Monroe's real name was Norma Jean Baker.• Are those flowers real or artificial?• She was clearly in real pain.• When Phil started in Dayton you were watching real people talk about things they were really concerned about.• All of the characters are based on real people.• The noise is becoming a real problem.• So what's the real reason you were late?• He didn't show any real regret for the suffering he had caused.• She's a real tomboy!• This is, of course, just what happens in a real tree.no real• Although it is a close-run thing arithmetically, there seems to be no real basis for this charge of bastardy.• Second, unlike other wars, there are no real casualties in this one, but a lot of winners.• It was a confusing situation, no real clues, nothing concrete.• None the less we are twinned with a small town in Hampshire with which we have no real connection.• There are no real department stores as such, most shops being small and specialized.• So no real number, positive or negative, squares to produce a negative result.• In the case of manifest content there is no real problem.• The ulcer was no real surprise.real live• But hate crimes take place in a real live community, and people need to be aware of that.• To actually see crabs scuttling across the floor and live sponges and even real live fish was astonishing.• Later rather than sooner a real live girl deals with your call in person.• In the Hollywood Canteen, where GIs and gobs were served by real live movie stars, he was in uniform.• Gordon Beamish was a real live optician.• Her relations with the real live Patrick were exactly as before.• She's a real live wire. 2.in real life• Q: Are you a cheerleader in real life?• Darwin could not be taught in the schools; but a perversion of Darwin could be practiced in real life.• I have made the reflected objects darker, just as they would be if seen in real life.• I only knew it from sepia pictures and it was something I thought I'd never see in real life.• Moving house Moving house in real life can be a great worry to young children.• On TV he plays a teenager, but in real life he's married with two children.• Once, in real life, I was on a boat full of steelworkers, and we sailed through South Chicago.• In a relatively short season of television, Ellen demonstrated what in real life often takes a lifetime.• He has confided that he once told Claudia that in real life people do not go around analysing everyday rituals.• She's much prettier in real life than she is in this picture.• In real life there's no magic wand to make all our problems disappear.real reason• She went back to the car, a little flushed, knowing her real reason for being there.• For an ugly moment I had been convinced she had guessed the real reason for my avid professional interest in Bill Francis.• The real reason for the practice was a genuine shortage of new leads.• I heard the real reason the game on Monday was postponed was because Hunslet ploughed it on Sunday.• This was just an excuse: the real reason they wanted to come was that they very much needed food at home.• But the gift shop is the real reason to stop, with all sorts of condiments, spices and cookbooks for sale.• Basically, she knew the real reason why she shunned the group was because of her shyness.• That was the Judgment of Paris, famed everywhere as the real reason why the Trojan War was fought.in real terms• Local authority expenditure during the 12 years since we took office has risen by 26 percent. in real terms.• Since 1981, the electronics industry had increased output by an average rate of about 14 percent a year in real terms.• The majority of contemporary items will probably not appreciate in value to any worthwhile degree, at least in real terms.• It has risen sharply in real terms, as the hon. Gentleman knows only too well.• The budgets for federal law enforcement and tax collection would both be down more than 10 percent in real terms by 2002.• The university and polytechnic libraries now spend probably more in real terms on library guides than they ever did.• Pensions have increased in real terms over the last twenty years, but not as fast as real personal disposable incomes.• In real terms, U.S. foreign aid has dropped by 30%.realreal2 ●●● S2 adverb American English spoken VERYvery He’s real cute. It was real nice to see you again.Examples from the Corpus
real• Maybe I just twisted it real bad.• I remember all this part real clear.• He got up real close to the bear and took a picture.• Carla's little boy is real cute.• You got to get a permit for those, and the permits are real expensive, okay?• This was real good of you, Clarence.• I tried to pray, real hard I tried.• I felt something real heavy on my chest.• He was real sensitive during the dinner, and so was Ann.• I think it was real sweet that she called me herself.• I know my kids real well.• The sidewalk was real wet and slippery.From Longman Business Dictionaryrealreal /rɪəl/ adjective real earnings/profits/value etcECONOMICS earnings etc that are calculated after including in the calculation the effects of inflationTheir data show that average real earnings of men aged 20-40 in 1987 were lower than in 1974.Origin real1 (1400-1500) Old French Medieval Latin realis “of things (in law)”, from Latin res “thing” 