Gone are those days when we used to send letters or visit a phone booth to communicate. Electronic methods of communication have become the easiest way to connect with people from around the world. It is only because of electronic communication that the world looks so small. With the growing use of electronic communication, the use of abbreviations has increased. Irl is the abbreviation for “in real life” and is used not only by kids but also by adults. Check out the meaning and usage of the term.
Meaning of Irl
Irl is the abbreviation of ‘in real life’. We use Irl or ‘in real life’ when we wish to distinguish reality from something that happens in a game, on TV, on social media, etc. The term “Irl” was coined in the early days of the Internet to distinguish between online and offline activities. Irl developed as a cool short form to distinguish between how things appear online and how they are in reality as people found ways to present an alternate version of themselves online.
Usage of Irl
Irl is internet slang, and it is never used in formal communications. It can be used in place of “in reality”. Depending on your conversation, it can be either in all capital letters or all small letters. If you want to emphasise the term, you can write it in all capitals. If at all you are using it in a formal context, try to be consistent in its capitalisation.
The term must be used wisely. While using the term, just keep in mind that this is supposed to highlight the fact that something isn’t happening in the context in which it is being spoken or that it is not as it appears online or on television. We have provided a few examples for your reference. Check the examples to understand the usage of Irl.
Examples:
- Should I also get a sword irl?
- Her photos are edited. She does not have this much hair irl.
- After meeting the guy, I realised he was a nice person irl.
- I had never imagined him to be so kind IRL.
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