reality

/riˈælədi/

/riˈælɪti/

Other forms: realities

Reality is the way things actually are, not the way you might want them to be. Many TV shows claim to be reality, but they are really just pretend. The only actual reality is the life that happens every day.

The noun reality harkens back to the late Latin realis, and later to the mid-16th Century Medieval Latin reālitās, referring to legal property matters, with the current meaning of "true existence" not coming about until 1647. Philosophers and scientists often debate about the true nature of reality, and a common philosophy is that a person’s reality is whatever he or she thinks it is. Or, as film director Tim Burton once said, "One person's craziness is another person's reality."

Definitions of reality

1. noun

   the state of being actual or real
   “the reality of his situation slowly dawned on him”

   synonyms: realism, realness

   antonyms:

   unreality

   the state of being insubstantial or imaginary; not existing objectively or in fact

   types:

   fact

   an event known to have happened or something known to have existed

   type of:

   actuality

   the state of actually existing objectively
2. noun

   the quality possessed by something that is real
   antonyms:

   unreality

   the quality possessed by something that is unreal

   type of:

   corporality, corporeality, materiality, physicalness

   the quality of being physical; consisting of matter
3. noun

   all of your experiences that determine how things appear to you
   “for them demons were as much a part of reality as trees were”

   synonyms: world

   types:

   real life, real world

   the practical world as opposed to the academic world

   type of:

   experience

   the content of direct observation or participation in an event
4. noun

   the state of the world as it really is rather than as you might want it to be
   “businessmen have to face harsh realities”

   types:

   historicalness

   the state of having in fact existed in the past

   type of:

   actuality

   the state of actually existing objectively