Webster's English Dictionary

Enter the word to look up:

real

1. re.al \'re-(-*)l, 'ri(-*)l\ aj [ME, real, relating to things (in law), 
   fr. MF, fr. ML & LL; ML realis re]lating to things (in law), fr. LL, real, 
   fr. L res thing, fact; akin to Skt rai property 1: of or relating to fixed, 
   permanent, or immovable things (as lands or te nements) 2a: not artificial, 
   fraudulent, illusory, or apparent : GENUINE  2b: occurring in fact  2c1: 
   necessarily existent  2c2: FUNDAMENTAL, ESSENTIAL  2d: having no imaginary 
   part {~ number}  2e: measured by purchasing power {~ income}  3: exact as 
   regards repetition of musical intervals in transposition ts. REAL implies 
   agreement between what a thing seems to be and what it is; ACTUAL stresses 
   occurrence or manifest existence; TRUE implies conformity to what is real 
   or actual esp. as a model or standard - re.al.ness n SYN syn REAL, ACTUAL, 
   TRUE mean corresponding to known fac 
2. real n : a real thing; esp : a mathematical real quantity 
3. real av : VERY 
4. re.al \ra--'a:l\ \-'a:l-(.)a-s\ n or re.als or re.ales [Sp.] pl  : the 
   chief former monetary unit of Spain