Real crossword clue

The most likely answers for the crossword clue “Real” are VERY, TRUE or LAND, with 4 letters. Below are 28 answers from 4 to 13 letters, best match first in each length, then what each top answer means and how to tell them apart.

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The best answers, explained

VERY 4 letters · adverb

used to give emphasis “she was very gifted”

SCENE 5 letters · noun

an incident (real or imaginary) “their parting was a sad scene”

ACTUAL 6 letters · adjective

being or reflecting the essential or genuine character of something “her actual motive”

SERIOUS 7 letters · adjective

concerned with work or important matters rather than play or trivialities “a serious student of history”

MATERIAL 8 letters · adjective

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

OBJECTIVE 9 letters · adjective

undistorted by emotion or personal bias; based on observable phenomena “an objective appraisal”

HISTORICAL 10 letters · adjective

having once lived or existed or taken place in the real world as distinct from being legendary “the historical Jesus”

SUBSTANTIAL 11 letters · adjective

having substance or capable of being treated as fact; not imaginary “the substantial world”

NATURALISTIC 12 letters · adjective

representing what is real; not abstract or ideal “in naturalistic colors”

ACTUALIZATION 13 letters · noun

making real or giving the appearance of reality

Telling them apart

With 4 squares, VERY, TRUE and LAND all fit. The first letter tells them all apart: V → VERY · T → TRUE · L → LAND. Fill in that crossing answer first.

With 6 squares, ACTUAL, PROPER, LANDED and DEVISE all fit. The first letter tells them all apart: A → ACTUAL · P → PROPER · L → LANDED · D → DEVISE. Fill in that crossing answer first.

With 7 squares, SERIOUS, GENUINE, SINCERE, LITERAL and FACTUAL all fit. The fourth letter tells them all apart: I → SERIOUS · U → GENUINE · C → SINCERE · E → LITERAL · T → FACTUAL. Fill in that crossing answer first.

Other forms of this clue

Clues often use another form of the word, and the answer then takes the same form: “reales” wants an answer that ends the same way.

What “real” means

• adjective: being or occurring in fact or actuality; having verified existence; not illusory (“real objects”)
• adjective: no less than what is stated; worthy of the name (“the real reason”)
• adjective: not to be taken lightly (“statistics demonstrate that poverty and unemployment are very real problems”)
• adjective: capable of being treated as fact (“his brief time as Prime Minister brought few real benefits to the poor”)

A clue usually points at one of these senses, so the right answer is the one that matches the sense the puzzle means: check it against the crossing words.

About these answers

We match the clue against our own thesaurus and dictionary (Open English WordNet): words that mean the same as REAL, and words whose definition is REAL. We don't copy answers from newspaper puzzles, so a clue that leans on trivia or wordplay may need the crossing letters instead.