real

SayREEL/ɹil//ɹiːl/

17 meanings of real

1
exists in factadjective
Existing or happening in fact, not just imagined or made up.
Like the difference between a true story and one someone just invented.
Dragons are not real, but horses are.
She wanted to know if the monster under the bed was real.
UsageOften real life.
Similaractual, true, existing, tangible
Oppositeimaginary, fictional, fictitious, unreal
2
adjective
True in fact, not just in name or in how things look.
Like finding out who really runs a shop, not just whose name is on the door.
He is the real owner, even though his brother signed the papers.
The real reason she left was money.
UsageOften the real reason.
Similaractual, true, genuine
Oppositenominal, apparent
Note
3
not artificialadjective
Genuine and not fake, or truly felt and not pretended.
Like getting a gold coin that is truly gold, not painted metal.
Is that a real diamond or just polished glass?
The jacket was real leather, not plastic.
Similargenuine, authentic, true, natural
Oppositefake, artificial, false
4
immovable propertyadjective
About land and buildings, not movable things.
Like the difference between your house, which stays put, and your bike, which you can take anywhere.
Real property includes the house and the land it sits on.
When someone dies, their real property passes to their heirs.
UsageMostly in real estate.
Oppositepersonal
Note
5
very (casual)adverbcolloquialUS
Very, used before a word to make it stronger.
Like saying 'super' before a word, as in 'super good.'
That movie was real good.
It got real cold last night.
UsageUse it before words like good or late. Before a verb, say really: I really like it.
Similarvery, pretty, awfully, super
Note
6
out-and-outadjective
Used to stress that something is total or very great.
Like calling a big mess a 'total' mess to show just how bad it is.
The kitchen was a real mess after the party.
Our new puppy is a real handful.
UsageSay a real mess.
Similarcomplete, total, absolute, utter, true
7
after inflationadjective
Measured after the effect of rising prices is removed, so it shows true buying power.
Like checking how much your money can really buy, not just the number printed on the paycheck.
After prices rose, his real pay actually went down even though his salary looked higher.
Their real income stayed flat once you take rising costs into account.
UsageThe opposite is nominal.
Oppositenominal
Note

Less common meanings

8
true to selfadjectiveslang
Genuine and honest, not fake or just showing off.
Like a true friend who acts the same whether or not people are watching.
She's real. She never pretends to be something she isn't.
I respect him because he stays real with everyone he meets.
UsageOften keep it real.
Similarauthentic, genuine, grounded, down-to-earth
Oppositefake, phony
Note
9
kind of numberadjective
Describing a number that fits somewhere on the number line.
Like any mark you could make on a ruler: it counts as one of these numbers.
The number pi is real but cannot be written as a fraction.
Negative three is a real value too.
Oppositeimaginary
Note
10
kind of numbernouncountable
Any number that has its own point on the number line, such as 2, one half or pi.
Like every spot along a ruler: each one names a number.
Pi is a real, even though its decimals never end.
Every point on the line stands for a real.
Note
11
Sayray-AHLUS/ɹeɪˈɑl/UK/ɹeɪˈɑːl/
Brazilian moneynoununcountable
The money used in Brazil since 1994, shown as R$.
Like the dollar in the United States, but used in Brazil.
The coin in her hand was worth one real.
She paid five reais for the bus ticket.
UsageMore than one is often reais.
Note
12
frankadjectiveslang
Bold and direct, ready to face a problem head-on.
Like a friend who tells you the hard truth instead of staying quiet.
He got real with me and told me exactly what I did wrong.
If something bothers you, be real and say it to my face.
UsageSay get real with someone.
Similarhonest, frank, serious, candid
Note
13
Sayray-AHLUS/ɹeɪˈɑl/UK/ɹeɪˈɑːl/
Spanish moneynoununcountable
An old unit of Spanish money, or a coin worth that much, once used in Spain and its colonies.
Like an old coin from Spain, used before the money we know today.
People across Spain's empire once paid for things with the Spanish real.
In colonial times, eight Spanish reales made one silver dollar.
Note
14
Sayray-AHLUS/ɹeɪˈɑl/UK/ɹeɪˈɑːl/
Portuguese moneynoununcountable
An old kind of money used in Portugal and Brazil for hundreds of years.
Like the dollar today, but used long ago in Portugal and Brazil.
In old Portugal, the real was the everyday money people used to buy goods.
Merchants in colonial Brazil priced their goods in réis.
Note
15
economic modeladjective
In economics, about goods and production rather than money.
In a real model, prices and wages adjust freely as people respond to incentives.
When factories close and people lose their jobs, the real economy suffers, not just the stock market.
Note
16
nounobsolete
An old word for a thinker who believed that general ideas like redness truly exist.
Scotists, Thomists, Reals, Nominals
1624, Democritus Junior [pseudonym; Robert Burton], The Anatomy of MelancholyHere, Reals means thinkers who believed general ideas, like redness, truly exist.
Note
17
noun
In Swedish grammar, the group of common-gender nouns for things, which are called 'it' (den), not 'he' or 'she'.

Practice

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Origins

Meanings 1–10, 12, 15–16

It came through Old French from Late Latin reālis, meaning "actual," from Latin rēs, meaning "thing."

Checked 1 Nov 2026 · 3 facts

English real came through Old French from Late Latin reālis. en.wiktionary.org
Latin reālis means actual. en.wiktionary.org
Reālis derives from Latin rēs, meaning thing. en.wiktionary.org

Meaning 13

It was borrowed from Spanish real, meaning "royal," from Latin rēgālis ("royal").

Checked 1 Nov 2026 · 2 facts

This sense was borrowed from Spanish real, meaning "royal". en.wiktionary.org
Spanish real derives from Latin rēgālis, meaning "royal". en.wiktionary.org

Meanings 11, 14

It came from Portuguese real, meaning "royal," from Latin rēgālis ("royal").

Checked 1 Nov 2026 · 2 facts

English real, in its Portuguese currency sense, came from Portuguese real, meaning "royal". en.wiktionary.org
Portuguese real derives from Latin rēgālis, meaning "royal". en.wiktionary.org