reality

See also: Reality

English

Etymology

[circa 1540] From French réalité (“quality of being real”), from Middle French realité (“property, possession”), from Medieval Latin reālitās, from Late Latin reālis (“real”), equivalent to real +‎ -ity. Recorded since 1550 as a legal term in the sense of “fixed property” (compare real estate, realty); the sense “real existence” is attested from 1647.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ɹiˈælɪti/, /ɹiˈæləti/

• Audio (US):

  (file)

• Rhymes: -ælɪti

Noun

reality (usually uncountable, plural realities)

1. The state of being actual or real.

   The reality of the crash scene on TV dawned upon him only when he saw the victim was no actor but his friend.

   • 1712 February 13 (Gregorian calendar), [Joseph Addison; Richard Steele et al.], “SATURDAY, February 2, 1711–1712”, in The Spectator, number 291; republished in Alexander Chalmers, editor, The Spectator; a New Edition, […], volume III, New York, N.Y.: D[aniel] Appleton & Company, 1853, →OCLC:

     The spelling has been modernized.

     A man very often fancies that he understands a critic, when in reality he does not comprehend his meaning.

   • 1915, G[eorge] A. Birmingham [pseudonym; James Owen Hannay], chapter I, in Gossamer, New York, N.Y.: George H. Doran Company, →OCLC:

     As a political system democracy seems to me extraordinarily foolish, […]. My servant is, so far as I am concerned, welcome to as many votes as he can get. […] I do not suppose that it matters much in reality whether laws are made by dukes or cornerboys, but I like, as far as possible, to associate with gentlemen in private life.

   • 2013 June 7, Joseph Stiglitz, “Globalisation is about taxes too”, in The Guardian Weekly, volume 188, number 26, page 19:

     It is time the international community faced the reality: we have an unmanageable, unfair, distortionary global tax regime. It is a tax system that is pivotal in creating the increasing inequality that marks most advanced countries today […].

2. A real entity, event or other fact.

   The ultimate reality of life is that it ends in death.

   • 1667, John Milton, “Book I”, in Paradise Lost. […], London: […] [Samuel Simmons], and are to be sold by Peter Parker […]; [a]nd by Robert Boulter […]; [a]nd Matthias Walker, […], →OCLC:

     And to realities yield all her shows.

   • 1770, James Beattie, Essay on the Nature and Immutability of Truth

     My neck, Sir, may be an idea to you, but to me it is a reality.

   • 2005 October 25, European Court of Human Rights, Wypych v. Poland‎^[1], number 2428/05:

     Given the economic realities of contemporary Poland, a requirement to provide information on movable assets which exceed PLN 10,000 in value cannot be held to be excessive.

3. The entirety of all that is real.
4. An individual observer's own subjective perception of that which is real.
5. (obsolete) Loyalty; devotion.
   • 1642, Thomas Fuller, The Holy State, Cambridge, Cambridgeshire: […] Roger Daniel for John Williams, […], →OCLC:

     To express our reality to the emperor.

6. (law, obsolete) Realty; real estate.

Synonyms

• truth
• actuality

Antonyms

• fantasy

Hyponyms

• absolute reality
• augmented reality
• consensus reality
• hybrid reality
• mixed reality
• real reality
• virtual reality

 

Derived terms

• bite of the reality sandwich
• in reality
• mugged by reality
• reality-based
• reality challenged
• reality check
• reality distortion field
• reality pornography
• reality principle
• reality show
• reality television
• reality testing
• reality therapy
• reality TV

 

Related terms

• realia
• realism
• realization
• realize
• realty

 

Translations

state of being actual or real

• Arabic: وَاقِع m (wāqiʕ), حَقِيقَة (ar) f (ḥaqīqa)

  Hijazi Arabic: حقيقة f (ḥagīga), واقع m (wāqiʿ)

• Armenian: իրականություն (hy) (irakanutʻyun)
• Assamese: দিঠক (dithok)
• Bashkir: ғәмәл (ğəməl), ысынбарлыҡ (ısınbarlıq)
• Belarusian: рэа́льнасць f (reálʹnascʹ), рэчаві́стасць f (rečavístascʹ), рэчаі́снасць (be) f (rečaísnascʹ), сапра́ўднасць f (sapráŭdnascʹ)
• Bulgarian: действи́телност (bg) f (dejstvítelnost), реа́лност (bg) f (reálnost)
• Catalan: realitat (ca) f
• Chinese:

  Mandarin: 現實／现实 (zh) (xiànshí), 现实 (zh) (xiànshí)

• Czech: skutečnost (cs) f
• Danish: virkelighed (da) c
• Dutch: werkelijkheid (nl) f, realiteit (nl) f
• Esperanto: realeco
• Faroese: veruleiki m
• Finnish: olemassaolo (fi)
• French: réalité (fr) f
• Georgian: სინამდვილე (sinamdvile), რეალობა (realoba)
• German: Wirklichkeit (de) f, Realität (de) f
• Greek: πραγματικότητα (el) f (pragmatikótita)
• Hebrew: מְצִיאוּת (he) f (metzi'út), ממשות (he) f (mamashút)
• Hindi: सच्चाई (hi) f (saccāī), यथार्थ (hi) m (yathārth)
• Hungarian: valódiság, tényszerűség
• Icelandic: veruleiki (is) m
• Indonesian: realitas (id), kenyataan (id)
• Irish: nithiúlacht f, réadúlacht f
• Italian: realtà (it) f
• Japanese: 実在 (ja) (じつざい, jitsuzai), 現実 (ja) (げんじつ, genjitsu)
• (deprecated template usage) {{trans-mid}}
• Khmer: ការពិត (kaa pɨt)
• Korean: 현실 (ko) (hyeonsil)
• Lao: ຄວາມເປັນຈິງ (lo) (khuām pen ching)
• Latin: natura, eventus, veritas (la)
• Latvian: īstenība f, realitāte f, reālums m, reālība f
• Luxembourgish: Realitéit f
• Macedonian: реалност f (realnost)
• Malay: realiti, kenyataan, hakikat, fakta
• Malayalam: യാഥാർത്ഥ്യം (ml) (yāthāṟtthyaṁ)
• Norwegian:

  Bokmål: virkelighet (no) m or f

• Polish: rzeczywistość (pl) f, realność (pl) f
• Portuguese: realidade (pt) f
• Romanian: realitate (ro) f
• Russian: реа́льность (ru) f (reálʹnostʹ), действи́тельность (ru) f (dejstvítelʹnostʹ), веще́ственность (ru) f (veščéstvennostʹ), явь (ru) f (javʹ)
• Serbo-Croatian:

  Cyrillic: стварност f, реалност f, јава f

  Roman: stvarnost (sh) f, realnost (sh) f, java (sh) f

• Slovak: skutočnosť f
• Slovene: resničnost f
• Spanish: realidad (es) f
• Swedish: verklighet (sv) c, realism (sv) c
• Tamil: மெய் (ta) (mey)
• Thai: ความเป็นจริง (th) (kwaam-bpen-jing)
• Turkish: gerçeklik (tr), realite (tr)
• Ukrainian: реа́льність f (reálʹnistʹ), ді́йсність f (díjsnistʹ), спра́вжність f (správžnistʹ)
• Volapük: please add this translation if you can
• West Frisian: wierheid c

a real entity, event etc.

• Armenian: իրողություն (hy) (iroġutʻyun)
• Catalan: realitat (ca) f
• Danish: realitet c
• Dutch: feitelijkheid (nl) f, realiteit (nl) f (indefinite article only)
• Esperanto: realaĵo
• French: vérité (fr) f
• Georgian: რეალობა (realoba)
• German: Realität (de) f
• Greek: πραγματικότητα (el) f (pragmatikótita)
• Hungarian: realitás (hu), tény (hu)
• (deprecated template usage) {{trans-mid}}
• Khmer: ការពិត (kaa pɨt)
• Malayalam: പരമാർത്ഥത (paramāṟtthata)
• Norwegian:

  Bokmål: realitet m

  Nynorsk: realitet m

• Polish: rzeczywistość (pl) f
• Portuguese: realidade (pt) f
• Romanian: realitate (ro) f
• Spanish: realidad (es) f
• Swedish: realitet (sv) c

entirety of all that is real

• Afrikaans: realiteit
• Armenian: իրական (hy) (irakan)
• Bashkir: ысынбарлыҡ (ısınbarlıq)
• Belarusian: рэа́льнасць f (reálʹnascʹ), рэчаі́снасць (be) f (rečaísnascʹ), рэчаві́стасць f (rečavístascʹ)
• Bulgarian: реа́лност (bg) f (reálnost), действи́телност (bg) f (dejstvítelnost)
• Catalan: realitat (ca) f
• Chinese:

  Mandarin: 現實／现实 (zh) (xiànshí), 现实 (zh) (xiànshí)

• Czech: skutečnost (cs) f
• Danish: virkelighed (da) c
• Dutch: de werkelijkheid (nl) f, de realiteit (nl) f (definite article only)
• Esperanto: realo (eo)
• Finnish: todellisuus (fi)
• French: réalité (fr) f
• Georgian: რეალობა (realoba), სინამდვილე (sinamdvile)
• Greek: πραγματικότητα (el) f (pragmatikótita)
• (deprecated template usage) {{trans-mid}}
• Hungarian: valóság (hu)
• Indonesian: realitas (id), kenyataan (id)
• Japanese: 現実 (ja) (げんじつ, genjitsu)
• Korean: 현실 (ko) (hyeonsil)
• Latvian: īstenība f, realitāte f, reālība
• Malay: realiti, kenyataan
• Norwegian:

  Bokmål: virkelighet (no) m or f

  Nynorsk: røynd (nn) f, røyndom m, verkelegheit (nn) f

• Polish: rzeczywistość (pl) f, jawa (pl) f
• Portuguese: realidade (pt) f
• Russian: реа́льность (ru) f (reálʹnostʹ), действи́тельность (ru) f (dejstvítelʹnostʹ)
• Spanish: realidad (es) f
• Swedish: verklighet (sv) c
• Ukrainian: реа́льність f (reálʹnistʹ), ді́йсність f (díjsnistʹ)
• Yiddish: וואָר f (vor)

an individual observer's subjective perception

• Afrikaans: realiteit
• Bashkir: ысынбарлыҡ (ısınbarlıq)
• Catalan: realitat (ca) f
• Danish: virkelighed (da) c
• Dutch: werkelijkheid (nl) f, realiteit (nl) f (indefinite article only)
• Finnish: todellisuus (fi)
• Georgian: რეალობა (realoba), სინამდვილე (sinamdvile)
• German: Realität (de) f
• Greek: πραγματικότητα (el) f (pragmatikótita)
• (deprecated template usage) {{trans-mid}}
• Japanese: 現実 (ja) (げんじつ, genjitsu)
• Latvian: realitāte f
• Portuguese: realidade (pt) f
• Romanian: realitate (ro) f
• Russian: реа́льность (ru) f (reálʹnostʹ), действи́тельность (ru) f (dejstvítelʹnostʹ)
• Spanish: realidad (es) f
• Swedish: verklighet (sv) c
• Turkish: realite (tr)

The translations below need to be checked and inserted above into the appropriate translation tables. See instructions at Wiktionary:Entry layout § Translations.

Translations to be checked

• Esperanto: ^{(please verify)} realaĵo
• Estonian: ^{(please verify)} reaalsus, ^{(please verify)} tegelikkus
• French: ^{(please verify)} réalité (fr)
• German: ^{(please verify)} Wirklichkeit (de) f, ^{(please verify)} Realität (de) f
• Italian: ^{(please verify)} realtà (it)
• Latin: ^{(please verify)} realitas f
• (deprecated template usage) {{trans-mid}}
• Serbo-Croatian:

  Cyrillic: ^{(please verify)} стварност f, ^{(please verify)} реалност f, ^{(please verify)} јава f

  Roman: ^{(please verify)} stvarnost (sh) f, ^{(please verify)} realnost (sh) f, ^{(please verify)} java (sh) f

• Slovene: ^{(please verify)} resničnost f
• Swedish: ^{(please verify)} verklighet (sv) c
• Ukrainian: ^{(please verify)} реальність (realʹnistʹ)

Usage notes

Adjectives that collocate with reality include: harsh; stark; brutal; grim; bitter

Further reading

• reality on Wikipedia.Wikipedia

Anagrams

• irately, tearily

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Italian

Etymology

Clipping of reality show, from English reality show.

Noun

reality m (plural realities)

1. (television) reality show

   Synonym: reality show

Further reading

• reality in Treccani.it – Vocabolario Treccani on line, Istituto dell'Enciclopedia Italiana

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Portuguese

Etymology

Clipping of reality show, from English reality show.

Noun

reality m (plural realities)

1. (Brazil, television) reality show

   Synonym: reality show

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Spanish

Etymology

Clipping of reality show, from unadapted borrowing from English reality show.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /reˈaliti/ [reˈa.li.t̪i]

Noun

reality m (plural realities or realitys)

1. (television) reality show

   Synonyms: reality show, programa de telerrealidad

Usage notes

According to Royal Spanish Academy (RAE) prescriptions, unadapted foreign words should be written in italics in a text printed in roman type, and vice versa, and in quotation marks in a manuscript text or when italics are not available. In practice, this RAE prescription is not always followed.

Further reading

• “reality”, in Diccionario de la lengua española, Vigésima tercera edición, Real Academia Española, 2014
• “show reality” in Lexico, Oxford University Press.