irrealis

ir·real·is
I1R1R1E1A1L1I1S1
/ɪɹiˈɑːlɪs//ɪɹiˈælɪs//ɪˈɹiəlɪs/

adjective

Inflected to indicate that an act or state of being is not a fact.

OriginNew Latin irreālis ← Latin in- →
Scrabble 8
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Meanings

adjectiveirrealis (not comparable)
  1. not comparablegrammarInflected to indicate that an act or state of being is not a fact.
nounirrealis (plural irrealises)

plural irrealises

  1. grammarAn irrealis construct.

    […] then it would make sense to view Australian past irrealises as TAM forms combining a modal stative predicate (conveying e.g. a capacity, expectation, or desire state) with a past imperfective content.

    2023, Kasia M. Jaszczolt, Understanding Human Time, page 170

Synonyms & antonyms

Also see
irrealis mood

Origin

  1. Latinin-“un-: not”
  2. New Latinirreālis“intangible, immaterial”
  3. Englishirrealis

Learned borrowing from New Latin irreālis (“intangible, immaterial”), from Latin in- (“un-: not”) + reālis (“real, material, composed of physical things”), from res (“thing”) + -ālis (“-al: forming adjectives”). Doublet of irreal.

More words from New Latin, Latin

Full word history & related roots →

Rhymes & wordplay

Anagrams

lairiser
Cite this entry
APA

irrealis. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 3, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/irrealis

MLA

“irrealis.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/irrealis. Accessed November 3, 2026.

Chicago

WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “irrealis,” accessed November 3, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/irrealis.

Source: irrealis on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.