Phrase guide

real world

adj · noun · 3 senses · updated from the 2026-07-25 local source snapshot

Definitions and examples are grouped by meaning. Pronunciation, history, word forms, translations, descendants, synonyms, antonyms, derived terms, and related words appear whenever the source provides them.

Sound

Pronunciation

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No pronunciation record was provided for this word.

1

adj

Meaning 1

Alternative form of real-world.

Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract

Usage: alt-of, alternative, not-comparable

No example sentence was provided for this meaning.

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: none provided

Antonyms: none provided

2

noun

Meaning 2

The realm of human experience comprising physical objects, and excluding theoretical constructs, hypotheses, artificial environments, and "virtual" worlds such as the Internet, computer simulations, or the imagination.

Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract

Examples

  • Near-synonym: real life
  • It's time to relocate this experiment from the laboratory into the real world.

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: reality, real reality, real life

Antonyms: none provided

3

noun

Meaning 3

the practical world as opposed to the academic world

Definition source: Princeton WordNet 3.0

Examples

  • a good consultant must have a lot of experience in the real world

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: real life

Antonyms: none provided

Broader terms: world, reality

History

Etymology

No etymology was provided for this word.

Across languages

Translations

18 source translations are retained for this English entry.

  • Arabic: عَالَم وَاقِعِيّ (ʕālam wāqiʕiyy) — realm comprising physical objects
  • Catalan: món real — realm comprising physical objects
  • Chinese Mandarin: 真實世界 /真实世界 (zhēnshí shìjiè) — realm comprising physical objects
  • Finnish: todellisuus — realm comprising physical objects
  • Finnish: tosielämä — realm comprising physical objects
  • Finnish: tosimaailma — realm comprising physical objects
  • French: monde réel — realm comprising physical objects
  • French: vraie vie — realm comprising physical objects
  • German: reale Welt — realm comprising physical objects
  • Japanese: 実世界 (jissekai) — realm comprising physical objects
  • Korean: 실세계 (silsegye) — realm comprising physical objects
  • Polish: real — realm comprising physical objects
  • Polish: prawdziwy świat — realm comprising physical objects
  • Portuguese: mundo real — realm comprising physical objects
  • Russian: реа́л (reál) — realm comprising physical objects
  • Russian: реа́льный мир (reálʹnyj mir) — realm comprising physical objects
  • Spanish: mundo real — realm comprising physical objects
  • Ukrainian: реа́льний світ (reálʹnyj svit) — realm comprising physical objects