real life
Beyond the screen
Real life is existence outside of fiction, fantasy, dreams, or virtual environments.
The phrase distinguishes actual experience from what's imagined, simulated, or performed: In real life, he's nothing like his character.
It often carries a note of contrast with something more appealing or dramatic: Real life isn't like the movies.
The abbreviation IRL (in real life) emerged from internet culture, where online personas may differ from offline selves.
Not internet-connected
- unpluggedDisconnected from power
- AFKOnline absence indicator
- meatspacePhysical world, not virtual
- IRLPhysical world, abbreviated
analog · face-to-face · in-person · brick-and-mortar · physical world · outside · disconnected · actual
Of body or matter
- concreteSolid building mixture
- materialPhysical matter; pertinent
- corporealHaving physical existence
- tactileOf the touching sense
sensory · palpable · solid · substantial · visceral · flesh · blood · face-to-face
Existing as something
- existenceState of being real
- mortalityState of eventual death
- humanityPeople as a whole
- consciousnessState of sentient awareness
sentience · soul · spirit · essence · identity · self · awareness · vitality
Wearisome regular routine
- choresRoutine household tasks
- commuteRegular work travel
- laundryItems needing cleaning
- groceriesFood bought at stores
housework · bills · nine-to-five · paperwork · errands · responsibilities · obligations · workaday
Truly what it claims
- trueAccurate or loyal
- honestFree from deception
- sincereGenuinely felt, not feigned
- unfeignedAuthentically felt, not pretended
heartfelt · unpretentious · straightforward · down-to-earth · grounded · raw · unfiltered · unscripted
Literature about real events
- factualGrounded in truth
- true storyNarrative of actual events
- biographyWritten life account
- autobiographySelf-penned life narrative
journalism · reportage · documentary · docudrama · memoir · firsthand · eyewitness · testimonial
offline
Not internet-connected
IRL · analog · face-to-face · in-person · brick-and-mortar · physical world · outside · disconnected · actual · embodied
physical
Of body or matter
tactile · sensory · palpable · solid · substantial · visceral · flesh · blood · face-to-face · in-person
being
Existing as something
consciousness · sentience · soul · spirit · essence · identity · self · awareness · vitality · birth
daily grind
Wearisome regular routine
groceries · housework · bills · nine-to-five · paperwork · errands · responsibilities · obligations · workaday · breadwinner
genuine
Truly what it claims
unfeigned · heartfelt · unpretentious · straightforward · down-to-earth · grounded · raw · unfiltered · unscripted · candid
nonfiction
Literature about real events
- factualGrounded in truth
- true storyNarrative of actual events
- biographyWritten life account
autobiography · journalism · reportage · documentary · docudrama · memoir · firsthand · eyewitness · testimonial · historical
- "life" phraseslifeblood, nightlife, wildlife, lowlife, highlife
- in-personface-to-face, in person, meetup, offline, presence
- real worldlived experience, natural world, physical space
- outside worldnature, outdoors, wilderness, environment, city
real lifefantasy
Imaginative mental wandering
fiction · imagination · make-believe · dreams · fantasy world
real lifevirtual reality
Computer-created interactive environment
simulation · cyberspace · video games · virtual world · virtual
real lifetheory
Explanatory set of principles
television · on paper · in principle · Hollywood · storybook
real, life, reality, unreal, realistic, surreal, realism, lifelike, realist