reality

Etymology

From French réalité (“quality of being real”), from Middle French realité (“property, possession”), from Medieval Latin reālitās, from Late Latin reālis (“real”), equivalent to real + -ity. Recorded since 1550 as a legal term in the sense of “fixed property” (compare real estate, realty); the sense “real existence” is attested from 1647. First attested in c. 1540.

noun

1. The state of being actual or real; realness.
   The reality of the crash scene on TV dawned upon him only when he saw the victim was no actor but his friend.
   While the SCP universe is, of course, filled with things that we would certainly not consider "real", most of the SCPs are tangible or perceivable in some way. There are those concepts, however, whose reality is debatable, even to the SCP Foundation, begging them to ask the question of what, exactly, is real. 7 January 2019, “Exploring the SCP Foundation: Pattern Screamers” (0:11 from the start), in The Exploring Series, archived from the original on 2023-01-11
2. The real world.
3. A real entity, event, or other fact.
   The ultimate reality of life is that it ends in death.
   My neck, Sir, may be an idea to you, but to me it is a reality. 1770, James Beattie, Essay on the Nature and Immutability of Truth
   Given the economic realities of contemporary Poland, a requirement to provide information on movable assets which exceed PLN 10,000 in value cannot be held to be excessive. 25-10-2005, European Court of Human Rights, Wypych v. Poland, number 2428/05
   It is time the international community faced the reality: we have an unmanageable, unfair, distortionary global tax regime. It is a tax system that is pivotal in creating the increasing inequality that marks most advanced countries today[…]. 2013-06-07, Joseph Stiglitz, “Globalisation is about taxes too”, in The Guardian Weekly, volume 188, number 26, page 19
4. The entirety of all that is real.
   Across the entire Universe. Never stopping, never faltering, never fading. People and planets and stars will become dust. And the dust will become atoms and the atoms will become... nothing. And the wavelength will continue, breaking through the rift at the heart of the Medusa Cascade into every dimension, every parallel, every single corner of creation. This is my ultimate victory, Doctor! The DESTRUCTION! Of REALITY! ITSELF! 5 July 2008, Russell T Davies, “Journey's End”, in Graeme Harper, director, Doctor Who, season 4 [30], episode 13, spoken by Davros (Julian Bleach)
5. An individual observer's own subjective perception of that which is real.
6. (obsolete) Loyalty; devotion.
7. (law, obsolete) Realty; real estate.