reality
Language: English
Part of speech: noun
Pronunciation: ipa: /ɹiːˈælɪti/
ipa: /ɹiˈæləti/
rhymes: -ælɪti
Forms: form: realities
Etymology: 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. First attested in c. 1540.
Senses: examples: text: The reality of the crash scene on TV dawned upon him only when he saw the victim was no actor but his friend.
text: While the SCP universe is, of course, filled with things that we would certainly not consider "real", most of the SCPs are tangible or perceivable in some way. There are those concepts, however, whose reality is debatable, even to the SCP Foundation, begging them to ask the question of what, exactly, is real.
ref: 2019 January 7, “Exploring the SCP Foundation: Pattern Screamers” (0:11 from the start), in The Exploring Series, archived from the original on 11 Jan 2023:
glosses: The state of being actual or real; realness.
examples: text: A man very often fancies that he understands a critic, when in reality he does not comprehend his meaning.
ref: 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:
text: 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.
ref: 1915, G[eorge] A. Birmingham [pseudonym; James Owen Hannay], chapter I, in Gossamer, New York, N.Y.: George H. Doran Company, →OCLC:
glosses: The real world.
examples: text: The ultimate reality of life is that it ends in death.
text: And to realities yield all her shows.
ref: 1667, John Milton, “Book VII”, in Paradise Lost. […], London: […] [Samuel Simmons], and are to be sold by Peter Parker […]; [a]nd by Robert Boulter […]; [a]nd Matthias Walker, […], →OCLC; republished as Paradise Lost in Ten Books: […], London: Basil Montagu Pickering […], 1873, →OCLC:
text: My neck, Sir, may be an idea to you, but to me it is a reality.
ref: 1770, James Beattie, Essay on the Nature and Immutability of Truth:
text: A dream, of simple fantasy / That I, wished was reality / That you'd, come knocking at my door / And we'd, relive this dream once more
ref: 1983, Debarge, “A Dream”, in In A Special Way:
text: Recent historical studies indicate that we must continue to challenge the notion that there is an unproblematic story of queer liberation. For example, how do local histories account for realities such as the increased racial segregation of the New York bar scene after Stonewall?
ref: 1996 September, Doreen Drury, “The Gay Capital of the World”, in Gay Community News, page 22:
text: 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.
ref: 2005 October 25, European Court of Human Rights, Wypych v. Poland, number 2428/05:
text: 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[…].
ref: 2013 June 7, Joseph Stiglitz, “Globalisation is about taxes too”, in The Guardian Weekly, volume 188, number 26, page 19:
glosses: A real entity, event, or other fact.
examples: text: Across the entire Universe. Never stopping, never faltering, never fading. People and planets and stars will become dust. And the dust will become atoms and the atoms will become... nothing. And the wavelength will continue, breaking through the rift at the heart of the Medusa Cascade into every dimension, every parallel, every single corner of creation. This is my ultimate victory, Doctor! The DESTRUCTION! Of REALITY! ITSELF!
ref: 2008 July 5, Russell T Davies, “Journey's End”, in Graeme Harper, director, Doctor Who, season 4 [30], episode 13, spoken by Davros (Julian Bleach):
glosses: The entirety of all that is real.
glosses: An individual observer's own subjective perception of that which is real.
examples: text: To express our reality to the emperor.
ref: 1642, Thomas Fuller, The Holy State, Cambridge, Cambridgeshire: […] Roger Daniel for John Williams, […], →OCLC:
glosses: Loyalty; devotion.
topics: law
glosses: Realty; real estate.
examples: text: a foray into reality programming
topics: broadcasting
media
glosses: Reality television.
Synonyms: truth
actuality
Hyponyms: absolute reality
augmented reality
consensus reality
hybrid reality
mixed reality
real reality
virtual reality
Derived terms: alternate reality game
bite of the reality sandwich
break reality
disreality
extended reality
in reality
mugged by reality
new reality
online reality game
reality-based
reality bender
reality challenged
reality check
reality distortion field
reality gap
reality mining
reality pornography
reality principle
reality shifter
reality shifting
reality show
reality television
reality testing
reality therapy
reality TV
reality warper
reality warping
Related terms: realia
realism
realization
realize
realty