Dictionary

irrealis en · ADJ

Pronunciation

• /ɪɹiˈɑːlɪs/
• /ɪˈɹiəlɪs/
• /ɪɹiˈælɪs/

Etymology

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.

Meanings

1. (not-comparable, of a verb) Inflected to indicate that an act or state of being is not a fact.

Deriveds

irrealis mood

Relateds

subjunctive

irrealis en · NOUN

Pronunciation

• /ɪɹiˈɑːlɪs/
• /ɪˈɹiəlɪs/
• /ɪɹiˈælɪs/

Etymology

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.

Meanings

1. An 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:

Forms