Skip to the word

Added 8 October 2026

real

/ɹiːl/ adjective

In Latin: vērus Wiktionary

adjective Definition from Wiktionary (CC BY-SA). Pronunciation from Wiktionary, via Kaikki.org. More about real at Wordnik → Where our words come from →

True, genuine, not merely nominal or apparent.
City hall has its place, but this pub is the real heart of the town.
Genuine, not artificial, counterfeit, or fake.
This is real leather.
Genuine, unfeigned, sincere.
These are real tears!

adverb

Really; very.
When I told him the truth, he got real mad.

noun

A commodity; see realty.
One of the three genders that the common gender can be separated into in the Scandinavian languages.
A real number.

noun

Former unit of currency of Spain and Spain's colonies.
A coin worth one real.

Origin

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. In modern times, likely strengthened by or conflated with the use of the prefix re-, analyzable as re- + -al.

From Wiktionary, via Kaikki.org (CC BY-SA)

Back to today's word