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View synonyms for

reality

[ ree-al-i-tee ]

noun

plural realities
  1. the state or quality of being real.
  2. resemblance to what is real.
  3. a real thing or fact.
  4. real things, facts, or events taken as a whole; state of affairs:

    the reality of the business world; vacationing to escape reality.

  5. Philosophy.
    1. something that exists independently of ideas concerning it.
    2. something that exists independently of all other things and from which all other things derive.
  6. something that is real.
  7. something that constitutes a real or actual thing, as distinguished from something that is merely apparent.


adjective

  1. noting or pertaining to a TV program or film that portrays nonactors interacting or competing with each other in real but contrived situations, allegedly without a script:

    a popular reality show; reality TV.

reality

/ ɪˈæɪɪ /

noun

  1. the state of things as they are or appear to be, rather than as one might wish them to be
  2. something that is real
  3. the state of being real
  4. philosophy
    1. that which exists, independent of human awareness
    2. the totality of facts as they are independent of human awareness of them See also conceptualism Compare appearance
  5. in reality
    actually; in fact
“Collins English Dictionary — Complete & Unabridged” 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012
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Other Word Forms

  • t··i·ٲ adjective
  • ԴDzr·i·ٲ noun plural nonrealities
  • r·i·ٲ noun
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Word History and Origins

Origin of reality1

From the Medieval Latin word , dating back to 1540–50. See real 1, -ity
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Idioms and Phrases

Idioms
  1. in reality, in fact or truth; actually:

    brave in appearance, but in reality a coward.

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Example Sentences

Examples have not been reviewed.

“But it’s time to bring people back to reality. This should not just be a slam-dunk to people.”

From

Second, while the administration touts tariffs as a revenue generator from foreign manufacturers, the reality is that tariffs inevitably become taxes on American consumers.

From

The world, and countless generations of interactions with it, coaxed our brains to evolve in the unique way that humans perceive reality.

From

that means in reality will not be clear until results day.

From

Curt Mills of the magazine the American Conservative said the quiet part out loud: “The reality is operational — Hegseth is just not up to this.”

From

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Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023

Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.

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realisticreality-based