real vs really :

real or really

The correct adverbial form is “really” rather than “real”; but even that form is generally confined to casual speech, as in “When you complimented me on my speech I felt really great!” To say “real great” instead moves the speaker several steps downscale socially. However “really” is a feeble qualifier. “Wonderful” is an acceptable substitute for “really great” and you can give a definite upscale slant to your speech by adopting the British “really quite wonderful.” Usually, however, it is better to replace the expression altogether with something more precise: “almost seven feet tall” is better than “really tall.” To strive for intensity by repeating “really” as in “that dessert you made was really, really good” demonstrates an impoverished vocabulary.

Facebook Twitter Google +


Definitions

  • n  any rational or irrational number
  • n  the basic unit of money in Brazil; equal to 100 centavos
  • n  an old small silver Spanish coin
  • a  being or occurring in fact or actuality; having verified existence; not illusory; not ghosts"
    real objects
    real people
    a film based on real life
    a real illness
    real humility
    Life is real! Life is earnest!"- Longfellow
  • a  no less than what is stated; worthy of the name
    the real reason
    real war
    a real friend
    a real woman
    meat and potatoes--I call that a real meal
    it's time he had a real job
    it's no penny-ante job--he's making real money
  • s  not to be taken lightly
    statistics demonstrate that poverty and unemployment are very real problems
    to the man sleeping regularly in doorways homelessness is real
  • s  capable of being treated as fact
    his brief time as Prime Minister brought few real benefits to the poor
  • s  being or reflecting the essential or genuine character of something
  • a  of, relating to, or representing an amount that is corrected for inflation
    real prices
    real income
    real wages
  • a  having substance or capable of being treated as fact; not imaginary
  • s  (of property) fixed or immovable
    real property consists of land and buildings
  • s  coinciding with reality
  • r  used as intensifiers; `real' is sometimes used informally for `really'; `rattling' is informal
    a really enjoyable evening
    I'm real sorry about it

  • r  in accordance with truth or fact or reality
    they don't really listen to us
  • r  in actual fact
  • r  in fact (used as intensifiers or sentence modifiers)
    really, you shouldn't have done it
  • r  used as intensifiers; `real' is sometimes used informally for `really'; `rattling' is informal
    a really enjoyable evening
News & Articles

  • 'Real Housewives' Star Tamra Barney is Married!
    Getty Images Real Housewives of Orange County star Tamra Barney is officially a wife! The blonde tied the knot with boyfriend of three years Eddie Judge Saturday, confirms Us Weekly . "I am so lucky to be sharing my life with Eddie," she told the magazine. "I have never been so in love! This is the beginning of the best part of my life." The wedding was epic, of course, since her big day was ...
    June 16, 2013 - Zimbio
  • Real estate firm Comey & Shepherd to build new Butler County office
    Cincinnati-based real estate firm Comey & Shepherd Realtors is building a new office in Butler County. Constructions starts this week on a two-story, 7,000-square-foot regional office located at 6764 Cincinnati-Dayton Road in Liberty Twp. Once complete, real estate agents from Comey & Shepherd’s existing local office in on Liberty Centre Drive in Liberty Twp. will move to the new building. The ...
    June 16, 2013 - Today's Pulse
  • 'Real Housewives of Miami's' Joanna Krupa marries Romain Zago
    Real Housewives of Miamistar Joanna Krupa is officially a wife after marrying her fiance Romain Zago Thursday.
    June 15, 2013 - Zap2It