Reality

4 definitions found

From The Collaborative International Dictionary of English v.0.48 [gcide]:

  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]

From WordNet (r) 2.0 [wn]:

  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}]
       2: the state of being actual or real; "the reality of his
          situation slowly dawned on him" [syn: {realness}, {realism}]
          [ant: {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}]

From Moby Thesaurus II by Grady Ward, 1.0 [moby-thes]:

  63 Moby Thesaurus words for "reality":
     accomplished fact, actuality, adventure, authenticity,
     circumstance, confirmability, demonstratability, doubtlessness,
     entelechy, episode, eternal verities, event, experience, fact,
     factuality, fait accompli, genuineness, good sooth, grim reality,
     hap, happening, happenstance, historical truth, historicity,
     in reality, incident, incontestability, incontrovertibility,
     indisputability, indubitability, indubitableness, irrefragability,
     irrefutability, materiality, matter of fact, not a dream,
     objective existence, occasion, occurrence, particular, phenomenon,
     provability, questionlessness, really, sooth, the true, trueness,
     truth, truthfulness, turn of events, ultimate truth,
     unconfutability, undeniability, unerroneousness, unfallaciousness,
     unfalseness, unimpeachability, unquestionability, unrefutability,
     veracity, verifiability, verity, very truth
  
  

From THE DEVIL'S DICTIONARY ((C)1911 Released April 15 1993) [devils]:

  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.