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real

 - 15 dictionary results

re⋅al

1[ree-uhl, reel]
–adjective
1. true; not merely ostensible, nominal, or apparent: the real reason for an act.
2. existing or occurring as fact; actual rather than imaginary, ideal, or fictitious: a story taken from real life.
3. being an actual thing; having objective existence; not imaginary: The events you will see in the film are real and not just made up.
4. being actually such; not merely so-called: a real victory.
5. genuine; not counterfeit, artificial, or imitation; authentic: a real antique; a real diamond; real silk.
6. unfeigned or sincere: real sympathy; a real friend.
7. Informal. absolute; complete; utter: She's a real brain.
8. Philosophy.
a. existent or pertaining to the existent as opposed to the nonexistent.
b. actual as opposed to possible or potential.
c. independent of experience as opposed to phenomenal or apparent.
9. (of money, income, or the like) measured in purchasing power rather than in nominal value: Inflation has driven income down in real terms, though nominal income appears to be higher.
10. Optics. (of an image) formed by the actual convergence of rays, as the image produced in a camera (opposed to virtual ).
11. Mathematics.
a. of, pertaining to, or having the value of a real number.
b. using real numbers: real analysis; real vector space.
–adverb
12. Informal. very or extremely: You did a real nice job painting the house.
–noun
13. real number.
14. the real,
a. something that actually exists, as a particular quantity.
b. reality in general.
15. for real, Informal.
a. in reality; actually: You mean she dyed her hair green for real?
b. real; actual: The company's plans to relocate are for real.
c. genuine; sincere: I don't believe his friendly attitude is for real.

Origin:
1400–50; late ME < LL reālis, equiv. to L re-, var. s. of rēs thing + -ālis -al 1


re⋅al⋅ness, noun


1–5. Real, actual, true in general use describe objects, persons, experiences, etc., that are what they are said or purport to be. That which is described as real is genuine as opposed to counterfeit, false, or merely supposed: a real emerald; real leather binding; My real ambition is to be a dentist. Actual usually stresses contrast with another state of affairs that has been proposed or suggested: The actual cost is much less; to conceal one's actual motive. True implies a perfect correspondence with actuality and is in direct contrast to that which is false or inaccurate: a true account of the events; not bravado but true courage. See also authentic.


The intensifying adverb real, meaning “very,” is informal and limited to speech or to written representations of speech: He drives a real beat-up old car. The adjective real meaning “true, actual, genuine, etc.,” is standard in all types of speech and writing: Their real reasons for objecting became clear in the discussion. The informal adjective sense “absolute, complete” is also limited to speech or representations of speech: These interruptions are a real bother.

re⋅al

2[rey-ahl; Sp. re-ahl]
–noun, plural re⋅als [rey-ahlz] , Spanish. re⋅a⋅les [re-ah-les] .
a former silver coin of Spain and Spanish America, the eighth part of a peso.

Origin:
1605–15; < Sp: royal < L rēgālis regal

re⋅al

3[rey-ahl; Port. re-ahl]
–noun
sing. of reis.

reis

[reys; Port. reys]
–plural noun, singular re⋅al [rey-ahl; Port. re-ahl] .
a former money of account of Portugal and Brazil.
Compare milreis.


Origin:
1545–55; < Pg, pl. of real real 2

real number

[ree-uhl, reel]
–noun Mathematics.
a rational number or the limit of a sequence of rational numbers, as opposed to a complex number.
Also called real.


Origin:
1905–10
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2009.
Cite This Source Link To real
re·al 1   (rē'əl, rēl)   
adj.  
    1. Being or occurring in fact or actuality; having verifiable existence: real objects; a real illness.

    2. True and actual; not imaginary, alleged, or ideal: real people, not ghosts; a film based on real life.

    3. Of or founded on practical matters and concerns: a recent graduate experiencing the real world for the first time.

  1. Genuine and authentic; not artificial or spurious: real mink; real humility.

  2. Being no less than what is stated; worthy of the name: a real friend.

  3. Free of pretense, falsehood, or affectation: tourists hoping for a real experience on the guided tour.

  4. Not to be taken lightly; serious: in real trouble.

  5. Philosophy Existing objectively in the world regardless of subjectivity or conventions of thought or language.

  6. Relating to, being, or having value reckoned by actual purchasing power: real income; real growth.

  7. Physics Of, relating to, or being an image formed by light rays that converge in space.

  8. Mathematics Of, relating to, or being a real number.

  9. Law Of or relating to stationary or fixed property, such as buildings or land.

adv.   Informal
Very: I'm real sorry about that.
n.  
  1. A thing or whole having actual existence. Often used with the: theories beyond the realm of the real.

  2. Mathematics A real number.


[Middle English, from Old French, from Late Latin reālis, from Latin rēs, thing; see rē- in Indo-European roots.]
real'ness n.
Synonyms: These adjectives mean not being imaginary but having verifiable existence. Real implies authenticity, genuineness, or factuality: Don't lose the bracelet; it's made of real gold. She showed real sympathy for my predicament.
Actual means existing and not merely potential or possible: "rocks, trees ... the actual world" (Henry David Thoreau).
True implies consistency with fact, reality, or actuality: "It is undesirable to believe a proposition when there is no ground whatever for supposing it true" (Bertrand Russell).
Existent applies to what has life or being: Much of the beluga caviar existent in the world is found near the Caspian Sea. See Also Synonyms at authentic.
re·al 2   (rā-äl')   
n.   pl. re·als or re·al·es (-ä'lěs)
A silver coin formerly used in Spain and Latin America.

[Spanish, royal, real, from Latin rēgālis, royal, from rēx, rēg-, king; see reg- in Indo-European roots.]
re·al 3   (rā-äl')   
n.   pl. re·ais (-īsh')
  1. A monetary unit formerly used in Portugal.

  2. See Table at currency.


[Portuguese, royal, real, from Latin rēgālis, royal; see real2.]
The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition
Copyright © 2009 by Houghton Mifflin Company.
Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.
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Slang Dictionary
real

  1. mod.
    very; really. : This is a real fine party.
Dictionary of American Slang and Colloquial Expressions by Richard A. Spears.Fourth Edition.
Copyright 2007. Published by McGraw Hill.
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Word Origin & History

real  (adj.)
1448, "relating to things" (esp. property), from O.Fr. reel, from L.L. realis "actual," from L. res "matter, thing," of unknown origin. Meaning "genuine" is recorded from 1559; that of "actually existing" is attested from 1597; sense of "unaffected, no-nonsense" is from 1847. Real estate is first recorded 1666 and retains the oldest Eng. sense of the word; Realistic "true to reality" (in art, etc.) is from 1856; meaning "having a practical view of life" is attested from 1862. Noun phrase real time is from 1953; get real, usually an interjection, was U.S. college slang in 1960s, reached wide popularity c.1987.
"Generally, by the time you are Real, most of your hair has been loved off, and your eyes drop out and you get loose in the joints and very shabby. But these things don't matter at all, because once you are Real you can't be ugly, except to people who don't understand." [Margery Williams, "The Velveteen Rabbit"]

real  (n.)
"small Spanish silver coin," 1588, from Sp. real, noun use of real (adj.) "regal," from L. regalis "regal." Esp. in ref. to the real de plata, which circulated in the U.S. till c.1850 and in Mexico till 1897.
Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2001 Douglas Harper
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Legal Dictionary

Main Entry: real
Function: adjective
Etymology: 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
1 a : of or relating to real property real action> —see also real property at PROPERTY b in the civil law of Louisiana : attached to a thing rather than a person 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 esp. to reflect actual purchasing power <real income>
Merriam-Webster's Dictionary of Law, © 1996 Merriam-Webster, Inc.
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Computing Dictionary

real
1. Not simulated. Often used as a specific antonym to virtual in any of its jargon senses.
2. real number.
[The Jargon File]
(1997-03-12)

The Free On-line Dictionary of Computing, © 1993-2007 Denis Howe
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Idioms & Phrases

real

In addition to the idiom beginning with real, also see for real; get real.

The American Heritage® Dictionary of Idioms by Christine Ammer.
Copyright © 1997. Published by Houghton Mifflin.
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Encyclopedia

real

monetary unit of Brazil. Each real (plural: reais) is divided into 100 centavos. The Central Bank of Brazil (Banco Central do Brasil) has the exclusive authority to issue banknotes and coins in Brazil. Coins are issued in denominations ranging from 1 centavo to 1 real. Banknotes are valued from 1 to 100 reais. The obverse of each banknote pictures a sculpture symbolizing the republic, with the exception of the 10-real note, which contains an image of Pedro Alvares Cabral, a Portuguese navigator who is considered to have been the first European to explore Brazil; the reverse sides are adorned with images of wildlife, including the crane (5-real note), the arara bird (10-real note), and the leopard (50-real note)

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Encyclopedia Britannica, 2008. Encyclopedia Britannica Online.
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