Imaginary vs. Real

Imaginary vs. Real — Is There a Difference?
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Difference Between Imaginary and Real

Imaginaryadjective

Existing only in the imagination.

Santa Claus is imaginary.

Realadjective

True, genuine, not merely nominal or apparent.

Imaginaryadjective

Having no real part; that part of a complex number which is a multiple of the square root of -1.

Realadjective

Genuine, not artificial, counterfeit, or fake.

This is real leather.

Imaginarynoun

Imagination; fancy.

Realadjective

Genuine, unfeigned, sincere.

These are real tears!
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Imaginarynoun

(mathematics) An imaginary quantity.

Realadjective

Actually being, existing, or occurring; not fictitious or imaginary.

a description of real life

Imaginarynoun

(sociology) The set of values, institutions, laws, and symbols common to a particular social group and the corresponding society through which people imagine their social whole.

Realadjective

That has objective, physical existence.

No one has ever seen a real unicorn.

Imaginaryadjective

not based on fact; dubious;

the falsehood about some fanciful secret treatiesa small child's imaginary friendsher imagined fameto create a notional world for oneself

Realadjective

(economics) Having been adjusted to remove the effects of inflation; measured in purchasing power contrast nominal.

My dad calculated my family's real consumption per month.What is the real GNP of this polity?
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Realadjective

(economics) Relating to the result of the actions of rational agents; relating to neoclassical economic models as opposed to Keynesian models.

Realadjective

Being either a rational number, or the limit of a convergent infinite sequence of rational numbers: being one of a set of numbers with a one-to-one correspondence to the points on a line.

Realadjective

(legal) Relating to immovable tangible property.

real estate;real property

Realadjective

Absolute, complete, utter.

This is a real problem.

Realadjective

(slang) Signifying meritorious qualities or actions especially as regard the enjoyment of life, prowess at sports, or success wooing potential partners.

I'm keeping it real.

Realadverb

Really, very.

Realnoun

A commodity; see realty.

Realnoun

(grammar) One of the three genders that the common gender can be separated into in the Scandinavian languages.

Realnoun

(mathematics) A real number.

Realnoun

(obsolete) A realist.

Realnoun

Former unit of currency of Spain and Spain's colonies.

Realnoun

A coin worth one real.

Realnoun

A unit of currency used in Portugal and its colonies from 1430 until 1911, and in Brazil from 1790 until 1942

Realnoun

A coin worth one real.

Realnoun

A unit of currency used in Brazil since 1994. Symbol: R$.

Realnoun

A coin worth one real.

Realnoun

any rational or irrational number

Realnoun

an old small silver Spanish coin

Realadjective

being or occurring in fact or actuality; having verified existence; not illusory;

real objectsreal people; not ghostsa film based on real lifea real illnessreal humilityLife is real! Life is earnest!

Realadjective

no less than what is stated; worthy of the name;

the real reasonreal wara real frienda real womanmeat and potatoes--I call that a real mealit's time he had a real jobit's no penny-ante job--he's making real money

Realadjective

being or reflecting the essential or genuine character of something;

her actual motivea literal solitude like a deserta genuine dilemma

Realadjective

not synthetic or spurious; of real or natural origin;

real minktrue gold

Realadjective

not to be taken lightly;

statistics demonstrate that poverty and unemployment are very real problemsto the man sleeping regularly in doorways homelessness is real

Realadjective

possible to be treated as fact;

tangible evidencehis brief time as Prime Minister brought few real benefits to the poor

Realadjective

being value measured in terms of purchasing power;

real pricesreal incomereal wages

Realadjective

having substance or capable of being treated as fact; not imaginary;

the substantial worlda mere dream, neither substantial nor practicalmost ponderous and substantial things

Realadjective

(of property) fixed or immovable;

real property consists of land and buildings; real estate

Realadjective

coinciding with reality;

perceptual error...has a surprising resemblance to veridical perception

Realadjective

founded on practical matters;

a recent graduate experiencing the real world for the first time

Realadverb

used as intensifiers; `real' is sometimes used informally for `really'; `rattling' is informal;

she was very giftedhe played very wella really enjoyable eveningI'm real sorry about ita rattling good yarn