real
- 01 A1 Beginner
adj.actually existing or happening, not imaginary or made up.
adj.existing as a physical or objective fact rather than being imaginary, fictitious, or theoretical.
Simple“The movie is based on a real story about a family in the 1920s.”
In context“Scientists are still searching for real evidence of liquid water on the surface of distant planets.”
- 02 A2 Elementary
adj.genuine and not a copy or a fake version.
adj.authentic and not counterfeit, artificial, or a substitute.
Simple“Is that a real diamond in your ring or is it just glass?”
In context“The museum curator confirmed that the signature was real, much to the relief of the private collector.”
Antonyms - 03 B1 Intermediate
adj.honest and sincere, showing your true feelings.
adj.unfeigned and sincere; expressing genuine emotion or character.
Simple“It was a real pleasure to meet your parents at the party.”
In context“Despite the formal setting, he spoke with real warmth about his late mentor's contributions to the field.”
- 04 B2 Upper Intermediate
adj.the value of money after you consider how prices have changed.
adj.relating to a value that has been adjusted to remove the effects of inflation to show true purchasing power.
Simple“While wages went up, real income stayed the same because prices rose too.”
In context“Economists prefer to track real GDP growth to understand the actual increase in production without the distortion of price changes.”
Synonymsinflation adjustedAntonyms - 05 C1 Advanced
adj.relating to land and buildings.
adj.relating to immovable tangible property, such as land or buildings.
Simple“He works in real estate, helping people buy their first homes.”
In context“The dispute centered on real property rights that had been established in the nineteenth century.”
- 06 C1 Advanced
adj.being honest and true to yourself, not acting like a fake person.
adj.signifying meritorious qualities of genuineness and groundedness; often used to praise someone for not being a 'poser'.
Simple“I like her because she is real and doesn't care what others think.”
In context“In an industry full of manufactured personas, he managed to stay real and keep his original fans.”
- 07 B1 Intermediate
adv.used to mean 'very' or 'really' to make an adjective stronger.
adv.used as an intensifier meaning 'very'; primarily found in informal speech.
Simple“That pizza was real good, we should go back there again.”
In context“He was moving real slow after the marathon, his muscles clearly exhausted from the effort.”
PitfallThe food was real good. The food was really good.In formal writing, use the adverb 'really' instead of 'real' to modify an adjective.
- 08 B1 Intermediate
n.the name of the money used in Brazil.
n.the basic unit of money in Brazil; also refers to historical Spanish or Portuguese coins.
Simple“I need to exchange my dollars for the Brazilian real before my trip.”
In context“The central bank intervened to stabilize the real after a week of volatile trading on the international markets.”
UsageThe plural is 'reais' in Portuguese, but often 'reals' in English.
- 09 C1 Advanced
n.any number that can be found on a continuous number line.
n.a value that represents a quantity along a continuous line, including rational and irrational numbers.
Simple“In this equation, x must be a real number, not an imaginary one.”
In context“The function is defined for all reals except where the denominator equals zero.”
Synonymsreal numberAntonymsimaginary number
Usage real leverage · real time · real life
From Middle English real, from Old French reel, from Late Latin reālis (“actual”), from Latin rēs (“matter, thing”), from Proto-Indo-European *reh₁ís (“wealth, goods”). Doublet of realis.
Borrowed from Spanish real (“royal”), from Latin rēgālis (“regal, royal”). Doublet of ariary, regal, riyal, and royal.
From Portuguese real (“royal”), from Latin rēgālis (“regal; royal”). Doublet of ariary, regal, riyal, and royal.
Etymology adapted from Wiktionary, available under CC BY-SA 4.0.