real life situation

Meanings

1. 1nouncountable

   an actual event or problem that happens in ordinary life, not in a test or exercise.

   Grammar: Countable: you can say 'a real life situation' or 'real life situations'.

   Patterns

   • a real life situation
   • in a real life situation
   • deal with a real life situation

   The exam asks you to solve problems based on a real life situation.

   In a real life situation, you would not have all this information.

   Teachers use videos to show students real life situations from the workplace.

2. 2noununcountable

   the kind of difficult or ordinary experience that people actually face outside theory.

   Grammar: Often used without 'a' in the fixed phrase 'in real life', meaning in reality.

   Patterns

   • in real life
   • real life experience

   Her advice sounds good, but it is hard to follow in real life.

   He has little real life experience of managing a team.

Word forms

Common combinations

in a real life situation

In a real life situation, you have to decide quickly.

a real life example

The teacher gave a real life example of the rule.

real life experience

Employers value real life experience, not just grades.

apply something to a real life situation

Try to apply the theory to a real life situation.

Synonyms and how they differ

real-world situation

Very close in meaning; 'real-world' is often used before nouns in business and academic writing.

practical situation

Focuses on the practical side rather than on whether it is real; it can describe a training exercise too.

Opposites

Word family

real life noun

Life as it actually is, not as shown in films or stories.

realistic adjective

Showing things as they really are; also meaning sensible and possible.

Commonly confused: real life situation or real-life?

Practice

Make it your own

Write a sentence using “real life situation”, then check it and compare it with the examples above.

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