Noun

(en-noun)

The state of being actual or real.

:

*(Joseph Addison) (1672-1719)

*:A man fancies that he understands a critic, when in reality he does not comprehend his meaning.

*

*:As a political system democracy seems to me extraordinarily foolish,I do not suppose that it matters much in reality whether laws are made by dukes or cornerboys, but I like, as far as possible, to associate with gentlemen in private life.

*{{quote-magazine, date=2013-06-07, author=(Joseph Stiglitz)

, volume=188, issue=26, page=19, magazine=(The Guardian Weekly) , title= Globalisation is about taxes too , passage=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

A real entity, event or other fact.

:

*(John Milton) (1608-1674)

*:And to realities yield all her shows.

*(James Beattie) (1735-1803)

*:My neck may be an idea to you, but it is reality to me.

The entirety of all that is real.

An individual observer's own subjective perception of that which is real.

(lb) Loyalty; devotion.

*(Thomas Fuller) (1606-1661)

*:To express our reality to the emperor.

Realty; real estate.

Noun

(en noun)

That which attends, or relates to, or in some way affects, a fact or event; an attendant thing or state of things.

* Washington Irving

The circumstances are well known in the country where they happened.

* {{quote-book, year=1905, author=

, title= , chapter=1 citation , passage=“The story of this adoption is, of course, the pivot round which all the circumstances of the mysterious tragedy revolved. Mrs. Yule had an only son, namely, William, to whom she was passionately attached ; but, like many a fond mother, she had the desire of mapping out that son's future entirely according to her own ideas. […]”}}

An event; a fact; a particular incident.

* Addison

The sculptor had in his thoughts the conqoeror weeping for new worlds, or the like circumstances in history.

* 1834 , David Crockett, A Narrative of the Life of , Nebraska 1987, p. 20:

Then another circumstance happened, which made a lasting impression on my memory, though I was but a small child.

Circumlocution; detail.

* Shakespeare

So without more circumstance at all / I hold it fit that we shake hands and part.

Condition in regard to worldly estate; state of property; situation; surroundings.

* Addison

When men are easy in their circumstances , they are naturally enemies to innovations.