real
adjective · adverb · noun
Simple meaning
Genuine, not artificial, counterfeit.
Pronunciation
Say it like this:
reelIPA pronunciation (US)
ˈɹil
This word is pronounced essentially the same in American and British English, so one transcription covers both.
IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) is a standard way of writing speech sounds.
Definition
Everyday modern meanings first, grouped by part of speech.
adjective
Genuine, not artificial, counterfeit, or fake.
True, genuine, not merely nominal or apparent.
Genuine, unfeigned, sincere.
Being or occurring in fact or actuality; having verified existence; not illusory; not ghosts"
Actually being, existing, or occurring; not fictitious or imaginary.
That has objective, physical existence.
adverb
uscolloquial
Really; very.
noun
Former unit of currency of Spain and Spain's colonies.
The basic unit of money in Brazil; equal to 100 centavos
uncountable
A unit of currency used in Portugal and its colonies from 1430 until 1911, and in Brazil from 1790 until 1942.
uncountable
A unit of currency used in Brazil since 1994. Symbol: R$.
A coin worth one real.
A commodity; see realty.
Word at a Glance
- Difficulty
- A1 · Beginner
- Frequency
- Very Common
- Typical Use
- Everyday English
Word Aura™
How this word commonly comes across.
Aura for this meaning
This meaning: Genuine, not artificial, counterfeit, or fake.
Used this way, real is a reasonably familiar word that usually carries little praise or criticism of its own. It usually sounds natural in a wide range of settings.
- Emotional tone
- Neutral
- Formality
- Neutral
- Intensity
- Not strongly marked
- How common
- Moderately common
- Connotation
- No strong connotation
- Usage feel
- Neutral and straightforward
Nearby words
- very , more formal, and heavier in everyday conversation
Word Aura describes common impressions, not a measurement. Tone changes with sentence, speaker, relationship and situation.
More ways to use real
- “Is that a real diamond on her necklace?”adjective
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Common Patterns and Combinations
How this word naturally appears with others.
Word Family
Related forms, grouped by how they connect.
Word family
Words built from the same root.
A philosopher who believes that universals are real and exist independently of anyone thinking of them.
All of your experiences that determine how things appear to you.
The attribute of accepting the facts of life and favoring practicality and literal truth.
In accordance with truth or fact or reality.
Be fully aware or cognizant of.
Earn on some commercial or business transaction.
Compound terms
Established multiword terms.
Informal usage attributing authenticity.
Of or relating to computer systems that update information at the same rate they receive information.
Data processing fast enough to keep up with an outside process.
Data processing fast enough to keep up with an outside process.
The practical world as opposed to the academic world.
Property consisting of houses and land.
Related words
Connected by subject or meaning, not by word formation.
A real estate agent who is a member of the National Association of Realtors.
An occasion on which one is reminded of the nature of things in the real world.
The governing principle of the ego.
More about this wordSynonyms, forms, origin
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Dictionary data from Wiktionary via the Free Dictionary API. Simple meanings, combinations and word intelligence are built from verified reference data, no AI is used to load this page.