Meaning of reality in English

reality

noun

/riˈæl.ə.ti/ us

/riˈæl.ə.t̬i/

the state of things as they are, rather than as they are imagined to be:

reality of The reality of the situation is that unless we find some new funding soon, the youth centre will have to close.

escape from reality He escaped from reality by going to the cinema every afternoon.

in reality He seemed very young, but he was in reality (= in fact) older than all of us.

new reality

B2 [ C ]

a fact:

The book confronts the harsh social and political realities of the world today.

become a reality Her childhood ambition became a reality (= happened in fact) when she was made a judge.

(also reality TV)

television programmes about ordinary people who are filmed in real situations, rather than actors:

There's too much reality on TV.

reality star She's famous as a reality star.

More examplesFewer examples

Romantic novels provide an escape from reality.
I like the idea of living in the countryside but I'm not sure I'd like the reality.
I sometimes think that he's losing his grasp on reality.
The stark reality is that we are operating at a huge loss.
This film blurs the line between reality and fantasy.

SMART Vocabulary: related words and phrases

Reality and truth

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You can also find related words, phrases, and synonyms in the topics:

Broadcasting: programmes & other broadcasts

(Definition of reality from the Cambridge Advanced Learner's Dictionary & Thesaurus © Cambridge University Press)

reality | American Dictionary

reality

noun [ C/U ]

/riˈæl·ɪ·t̬i/

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the actual state of things, or the facts involved in such a state:

[ U ] The reality is I’m not going to be picked for the team.

[ C ] The realities of parenthood were overwhelming at first.

in reality

In reality means what actually happened or what the actual situation is:

He told the police he was out of town, but in reality, he never went anywhere.

(Definition of reality from the Cambridge Academic Content Dictionary © Cambridge University Press)

Examples of reality

reality

Later the parties reformulated their goals in accordance with what they regarded as new social realities.

From the Cambridge English Corpus

Presumably, their theory was that their formulae represent not only historical realities but synchronic realities of some sort as well.

From the Cambridge English Corpus

Family associations have adapted and changed in accord with their audiences and markets, their potential kinship bases, and the economic realities they address.

From the Cambridge English Corpus

The predominant model of an ethics consultant, a sort of "beeper" ethicist available to different hospital units, is inconsistent with the realities of rural life.

From the Cambridge English Corpus

Beginning in the late 1970s, policy-makers began to rethink welfare state strategies in light of economic stagnation, international pressures, and new demographic realities.

From the Cambridge English Corpus

Meanwhile, seaside humour now appears to lie more in exposing the realities beneath the old archetypes.

From the Cambridge English Corpus

The author seems strangely distanced from the realities of the country on which she writes.

From the Cambridge English Corpus

One aspect of project planning relates to the extent to which e-government designers are or are not exposed to the realities of the user context.

From the Cambridge English Corpus

Slyomovics invokes the idea of a palimpsest, a canvas on which layers of painted realities reveal underlying layers through the dominating, top image.

From the Cambridge English Corpus

The more recent realities in my own career, however, were begun either by chance remark or unforeseen happenstance.

From the Cambridge English Corpus

Such a possibility requires a condition: the capacity of realities to be transformed without being destroyed in the process.

From the Cambridge English Corpus

Any anti-corruption policy must face up to these realities.

From the Cambridge English Corpus

Idealizing the positive defensive and protective aspects of warriorhood may also involve a denial of the destructive, senseless realities of modern warfare.

From the Cambridge English Corpus

During future refinement of this technology, it is important to bear in mind the operational realities of using such a pupal separation system.

From the Cambridge English Corpus

Many of those faced with the practical realities of enforcing proclamations or other regulations of this nature were much more lenient.

From the Cambridge English Corpus

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These examples are from corpora and from sources on the web. Any opinions in the examples do not represent the opinion of the Cambridge Dictionary editors or of Cambridge University Press or its licensors.

Collocations with reality

reality

These are words often used in combination with reality.

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absolute reality

They do not capture an absolute reality but a partial one.

From the Cambridge English Corpus

alternate reality

This suggests that the book takes place in an alternate reality.

From

Wikipedia

This example is from Wikipedia and may be reused under a CC BY-SA license.

alternative reality

It became a social enclave in which members were given opportunities to create an alternative reality.

From the Cambridge English Corpus

See all collocations with reality

What is the pronunciation of reality?

Translations of reality

in Chinese (Traditional)

現實, 實際情況, 事實…

Meaning of reality in English

reality | American Dictionary

Examples of reality

Collocations with reality

reality

Translations of reality

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