Reality
What's actually happening — actually relative and malleable.
How We Say It
ree·al·i·tee
Where It Comes From
Late Latin realitas — thingness. From realis — actual. From Latin res — thing, matter. Originally a Scholastic philosophical term for that which has objective existence independent of mind. The contested meaning is built into the word — what reality consists of has been the central question of metaphysics.
How It's Been Used
Operates in conflict across many domains. Physics has displaced common-sense reality with quantum indeterminacy and relativity. 'Reality TV,' 'virtual reality,' and 'augmented reality' show how the word has become flexible to the point of paradox. 'Post-truth' and 'alternative facts' name a political environment where shared reality itself is contested.