real life
266
2.3
- noun
- /riːəl laɪf/
:
vida real
- In real life, people often face challenges that are not depicted in movies.
- happen in real life
- a real-life situation
- a real-life problem
She thought that real life lay somewhere out there.
- She thought that real life lay somewhere out there.
- And you're, you're seeing it in real life, in real time play out.
- That's the whole thing that's not real life and it's been made by men.
- Hello, that happened in real life to me, my children.
- When you have to deal with real life, you will act differently.
- Is Rhett as blank in real life as he is on the show?
- We also do things in real life now for the content.
- Like there's sex in real life and then there's sex on set.
- And just know that the magazine isn't selling real life in that sense either.
- But yeah, I met him in real life and he's he's actually.
- When you see these people in real life, they can say they're happier.
Examples
-
The training voyage won't last but a few months, and then real life begins.
Fiction book (1992) -
Students want rigor and opportunities to apply what they have learned in real life or meaningful situations.
Academic text (2008) -
This is what I look like in real life, yes.
-
You are getting a real life look into how I feel.
-
A time machine would be needed in real life to apply such results.
Academic text (1991) -
Do you think this is a story that could happen in real life?
Academic text (2011) -
When you have to deal with real life, you will act differently.
-
Oh, you're a real life friend, not an Internet friend.
-
Real life doesn't fit into little boxes that were drawn for it.
-
"What about real life?" Orianna said, "When I'm eighteen, real life will mean something."
Fiction book (1993)
Synonyms
∞
1.4
The way things really are, not how we imagine or wish
253
3.9
Everyday life and work outside study or theory
Antonyms
How Realistic
Surface Forms
Morphology
The meaning 'the practical or actual world' is directly derivable from combining 'real' (actual, genuine) with 'life' (one's existence/experiences); there is no idiomatic shift or hidden metaphor. This compositional pattern is cross-linguistically common and contrasts like 'in real life' vs 'in theory' are predictable, so a B1 learner who knows both words will readily understand it.
Etymology
Real life comes from the simple image of comparing real events with made-up stories, plans, or lessons. So when people say real life, they mean the actual, everyday world, not 'fiction' or just ideas from books or class.