reality

bring someone back to reality

to force someone to face reality. The rain shower brought her back to reality. Liz was brought back to reality by a rude shock.

See also: back, bring

in reality

viewing things realistically; really. Jane dreamed it was snowing, but in reality, it was very warm. John looks happy, but in reality, he is miserable.

lose touch with reality

to began to think unrealistically; to become unrealistic. I am so overworked that I am losing touch with reality. The psychotic criminal had lost touch with reality.

See also: lose, touch

reality of the situation

the truth or actuality of the situation; the way the situation really is. The reality of the situation is that we must act right now. Let's face the reality of the situation and go out and get jobs so we can pay our bills.

See also: situation

virtual reality

Fig. computer imaging that attempts to mimic real scenes or places. The movie had so much virtual reality that the regular photographic scenes began to look funny.

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in reality

actually The solution seemed simple, but in reality it was almost impossible to make it happen.

Related vocabulary: as a matter of fact