real Meaning, Definition & Usage

  1. noun any rational or irrational number
    real number.
  2. noun the basic unit of money in Brazil; equal to 100 centavos
  3. noun an old small silver Spanish coin
  4. adjective being or occurring in fact or actuality; having verified existence; not illusory; not ghosts"
    existent.
    • real objects
    • real people
    • a film based on real life
    • a real illness
    • real humility
    • Life is real! Life is earnest!"- Longfellow
  5. adjective no less than what is stated; worthy of the name
    • the real reason
    • real war
    • a real friend
    • a real woman
    • meat and potatoes--I call that a real meal
    • it's time he had a real job
    • it's no penny-ante job--he's making real money
  6. adjective satellite not to be taken lightly
    • statistics demonstrate that poverty and unemployment are very real problems
    • to the man sleeping regularly in doorways homelessness is real
  7. adjective satellite capable of being treated as fact
    tangible.
    • tangible evidence
    • his brief time as Prime Minister brought few real benefits to the poor
  8. adjective satellite being or reflecting the essential or genuine character of something
    genuine; literal; actual.
    • her actual motive
    • a literal solitude like a desert"- G.K.Chesterton
    • a genuine dilemma
  9. adjective of, relating to, or representing an amount that is corrected for inflation
    • real prices
    • real income
    • real wages
  10. adjective having substance or capable of being treated as fact; not imaginary
    material; substantial.
    • the substantial world
    • a mere dream, neither substantial nor practical
    • most ponderous and substantial things"- Shakespeare
  11. adjective satellite (of property) fixed or immovable
    • real property consists of land and buildings
  12. adjective satellite coinciding with reality
    veridical.
    • perceptual error...has a surprising resemblance to veridical perception"- F.A.Olafson
  13. adverb used as intensifiers; `real' is sometimes used informally for `really'; `rattling' is informal
    very; rattling; really.
    • she was very gifted
    • he played very well
    • a really enjoyable evening
    • I'm real sorry about it
    • a rattling good yarn

WordNet

Re"al noun
Etymology
Sp., fr. real royal, L. regalis. See Regal, and cf. Ree a coin.
Definitions
  1. A small Spanish silver coin; also, a denomination of money of account, formerly the unit of the Spanish monetary system. ✍ A real of plate (coin) varied in value according to the time of its coinage, from 12½ down to 10 cents, or from 6½ to 5 pence sterling. The real vellon, or money of account, was nearly equal to five cents, or 2½ pence sterling. In 1871 the coinage of Spain was assimilated to that of the Latin Union, of which the franc is the unit.
Re*al" adjective
Definitions
  1. Royal; regal; kingly. Obs. "The blood real of Thebes." Chaucer.
Re"al adjective
Etymology
LL. realis, fr. L. res, rei, a thing: cf. F. réel. Cf. Rebus.
Definitions
  1. Actually being or existing; not fictitious or imaginary; as, a description of real life.
    Whereat I waked, and found Before mine eyes all real, as the dream Had lively shadowed. Milton.
  2. True; genuine; not artificial; counterfeit, or factitious; often opposed to ostensible; as, the real reason; real Madeira wine; real ginger. split reason from objects.
    Whose perfection far excelled Hers in all real dignity. Milton.
  3. Relating to things, not to persons. Obs.
    Many are perfect in men's humors that are not greatly capable of the real part of business. Bacon.
  4. (Alg.) Having an assignable arithmetical or numerical value or meaning; not imaginary.
  5. (Law) Pertaining to things fixed, permanent, or immovable, as to lands and tenements; as, real property, in distinction from personal or movable property. Syn. -- Actual; true; genuine; authentic. -- Real, Actual. Real represents a thing to be a substantive existence; as, a real, not imaginary, occurrence. Actual refers to it as acted or performed; and, hence, when we wish to prove a thing real, we often say, "It actually exists," "It has actually been done." Thus its really is shown by its actually. Actual, from this reference to being acted, has recently received a new signification, namely, present; as, the actual posture of affairs; since what is now in action, or going on, has, of course, a present existence. An actual fact; a real sentiment.
    For he that but conceives a crime in thought, Contracts the danger of an actual fault. Dryden.
    Our simple ideas are all real; all agree to the reality of things. Locke.
Re"al noun
Definitions
  1. A realist. Obs. Burton.

Webster 1913