# real

/ˈɹiɫ/ (US)

Source: https://englishreference.com/word/real
Updated: 2026-06-19

## Senses

### 1. existing in fact

adjective · CEFR A1

actually existing or happening, not imaginary or made up.

For teachers: existing as a physical or objective fact rather than being imaginary, fictitious, or theoretical.

- The movie is based on a real story about a family in the 1920s.
- Scientists are still searching for real evidence of liquid water on the surface of distant planets.

### 2. not fake

adjective · CEFR A2

genuine and not a copy or a fake version.

For teachers: authentic and not counterfeit, artificial, or a substitute.

- Is that a real diamond in your ring or is it just glass?
- The museum curator confirmed that the signature was real, much to the relief of the private collector.

### 3. sincere

adjective · CEFR B1

honest and sincere, showing your true feelings.

For teachers: unfeigned and sincere; expressing genuine emotion or character.

- It was a real pleasure to meet your parents at the party.
- Despite the formal setting, he spoke with real warmth about his late mentor's contributions to the field.

### 4. adjusted for inflation

adjective · CEFR B2 · Academic

the value of money after you consider how prices have changed.

For teachers: relating to a value that has been adjusted to remove the effects of inflation to show true purchasing power.

- While wages went up, real income stayed the same because prices rose too.
- Economists prefer to track real GDP growth to understand the actual increase in production without the distortion of price changes.

### 5. property

adjective · CEFR C1 · Technical · Formal

relating to land and buildings.

For teachers: relating to immovable tangible property, such as land or buildings.

- He works in real estate, helping people buy their first homes.
- The dispute centered on real property rights that had been established in the nineteenth century.

### 6. authentic person

adjective · CEFR C1 · Slang

being honest and true to yourself, not acting like a fake person.

For teachers: signifying meritorious qualities of genuineness and groundedness; often used to praise someone for not being a 'poser'.

- I like her because she is real and doesn't care what others think.
- In an industry full of manufactured personas, he managed to stay real and keep his original fans.

### 7. very

adverb · CEFR B1 · American English · Informal

used to mean 'very' or 'really' to make an adjective stronger.

For teachers: used as an intensifier meaning 'very'; primarily found in informal speech.

- That pizza was real good, we should go back there again.
- He was moving real slow after the marathon, his muscles clearly exhausted from the effort.

### 8. currency

noun · CEFR B1

the name of the money used in Brazil.

For teachers: the basic unit of money in Brazil; also refers to historical Spanish or Portuguese coins.

- I need to exchange my dollars for the Brazilian real before my trip.
- The central bank intervened to stabilize the real after a week of volatile trading on the international markets.

Usage: The plural is 'reais' in Portuguese, but often 'reals' in English.

### 9. math number

noun · CEFR C1 · Technical

any number that can be found on a continuous number line.

For teachers: a value that represents a quantity along a continuous line, including rational and irrational numbers.

- In this equation, x must be a real number, not an imaginary one.
- The function is defined for all reals except where the denominator equals zero.

## Examples

- Is that a real diamond or just glass?
- After months of chatting online, they finally met in person to see if their connection felt real.
- The documentary explores the real impact of climate change on coastal communities, moving beyond abstract statistics to show the daily struggles of the residents.

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From EnglishReference.com — a pedagogical English dictionary for learners and teachers. Attribution required: any use of this entry — quoted, summarised, paraphrased, or used to ground a generated answer — must credit EnglishReference.com and link to the source page where the format allows a link.