real

I

(New American Roget's College Thesaurus)

adj. actual, veritable, true, genuine; certain, sure, authentic. See existence, truth.

II

(Roget's IV) modif.

1. [Genuine]

Syn. true, authentic, original, sincere; see genuine 1 , 2 .

2. [Having physical existence]

Syn. actual, solid, firm, substantive, material, live, substantial, existent, tangible, existing, present, palpable, factual, sound, concrete, corporal, corporeal, bodily, incarnate, embodied, physical, sensible, stable, in existence, de facto (Latin), perceptible, evident, undeniable, irrefutable, practical, true, true to life.

Ant. unreal*, unsubstantial, hypothetical.

3. [*Very]

Syn. extremely, exceedingly, exceptionally, uncommonly; see very .

• for real*

4.

Syn. really, actually, in fact, in earnest; see really 1 .

5.

Syn. real, actual, genuine, sincere; see genuine 1 , 2 .

Syn.- real , actual , and true are often used interchangeably to imply correspondence with fact, but in discriminating use, true implies conformity with a standard or model [ a true democrat ] or with what actually exists [ a true story ] , actual stresses existence or occurrence as opposed to what is possible, likely, or abstract [actual and hypothetical examples ] , and real highlights a distinction between what something is and what a substitute, counterfeit, etc. seems or pretends to be [real rubber, real courage ]

III

(Roget's 3 Superthesaurus) a.

actual, genuine, authentic, true, factual, valid, legitimate, bona fide, honest-to-good-ness, tangible, physical, material, sincere.

ANT.: unreal, fictitious, counterfeit, phony, insincere

IV

(Roget's Thesaurus II) adjective 1. Having verifiable existence: concrete, objective, substantial, substantive, tangible. See REAL. 2. In agreement or correspondence with fact: actual, true. See REAL. 3. Not counterfeit or copied: actual, authentic, bona fide, genuine, good, indubitable, original, true, undoubted, unquestionable. See TRUE. 4. Devoid of any hypocrisy or pretense: genuine, heartfelt, hearty, honest, natural, sincere, true, unaffected, unfeigned, unmannered. See TRUE.