[syn: reality, realness, realism]
3. the state of the world as it really is rather than as you might want it to be;
- Example: "businessmen have to face harsh realities"
4. the quality possessed by something that is real;
The Collaborative International Dictionary of English v.0.48:
Reality \Re*al"i*ty\ (r[-e]*[a^]l"[i^]*t[y^]), n.; pl.
Realities (-t[i^]z). [Cf. F. r['e]alit['e], LL. realitas.
See 3d Real, and cf. 2d Realty.]
1. The state or quality of being real; actual being or
existence of anything, in distinction from mere
appearance; fact.
[1913 Webster]
A man fancies that he understands a critic, when in
reality he does not comprehend his meaning.
--Addison.
[1913 Webster]
2. That which is real; an actual existence; that which is not
imagination, fiction, or pretense; that which has
objective existence, and is not merely an idea.
[1913 Webster]
And to realities yield all her shows. --Milton.
[1913 Webster]
My neck may be an idea to you, but it is a reality
to me. --Beattie.
[1913 Webster]
3. [See 1st Realty, 2.] Loyalty; devotion. [Obs.]
[1913 Webster]
To express our reality to the emperor. --Fuller.
[1913 Webster]
4. (Law) See 2d Realty, 2.
[1913 Webster]
WordNet (r) 3.0 (2006):
reality
n 1: all of your experiences that determine how things appear to
you; "his world was shattered"; "we live in different
worlds"; "for them demons were as much a part of reality as
trees were" [syn: world, reality]
2: the state of being actual or real; "the reality of his
situation slowly dawned on him" [syn: reality, realness,
realism] [ant: irreality, unreality]
3: the state of the world as it really is rather than as you
might want it to be; "businessmen have to face harsh
realities"
4: the quality possessed by something that is real [ant:
unreality]
The Devil's Dictionary (1881-1906):
REALITY, n. The dream of a mad philosopher. That which would remain
in the cupel if one should assay a phantom. The nucleus of a vacuum.