reality
noun
Simple meaning
Being actual or real.
Pronunciation
Say it like this:
reealuhteeSay the bold part a little louder.
IPA pronunciation (US)
ɹiˈæləti
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.
noun
The state of being actual or real
“The reality of his situation slowly dawned on him.”
The state of the world as it really is rather than as you might want it to be
“Businessmen have to face harsh realities.”
The quality possessed by something that is real
A real entity, event, or other fact.
The entirety of all that is real.
An individual observer's own subjective perception of that which is real.
Word at a Glance
- Difficulty
- A1 · Beginner (estimated)
- Frequency
- Common
- Typical Use
- General English
Word Aura™
How this word commonly comes across.
Aura for this meaning
This meaning: The state of being actual or real
Used this way, reality is a common word that usually carries little praise or criticism of its own. It usually sounds natural in a wide range of settings.
“The reality of his situation slowly dawned on him.”
- Emotional tone
- Neutral
- Formality
- Neutral
- Intensity
- Not strongly marked
- How common
- Common
- Connotation
- Matter-of-fact
- Usage feel
- Neutral and straightforward
Usage note
It most often appears in the pattern “reality of …”, which is worth copying when you use it.
Nearby words
- realness , rarer, so it draws attention
Natural pattern: reality of …
Word Aura describes common impressions, not a measurement. Tone changes with sentence, speaker, relationship and situation.
How It’s Used
The word’s distinct uses, one example each.
Actualnoun
“The reality of his situation slowly dawned on him.”
Worldnoun
“Businessmen have to face harsh realities.”
More ways to use reality
- “The reality of his situation slowly dawned on him.”noun
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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.
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.
An occasion on which one is reminded of the nature of things in the real world.
The governing principle of the ego.
Used to imply that one would expect the fact to be the opposite of that stated.
A hypothetical three-dimensional visual world created by a computer.
Related Words
Connected to the same idea, not synonyms.
- fantasynoun
- bravonoun
- consciousnessnoun
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.