unreal

American  

[uhn-ree-uhl, -reel] / ʌnˈri əl, -ˈril /

adjective

1. not real or actual.

2. imaginary; fanciful; illusory; delusory; fantastic.

3. lacking in truth; not genuine; false; artificial.

   unreal propaganda serving as news.

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unreal British  

/ ʌnˈrɪəl /

adjective

1. imaginary or fanciful or seemingly so

   an unreal situation

2. having no actual existence or substance

3. insincere or artificial

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Other Word Forms

• unreally adverb

Etymology

Origin of unreal

First recorded in 1595–1605; un- ¹ + real ¹

Example Sentences

"It used to be like fog-like," he tells the BBC, adding that walking into a pub for the first time without the omnipresent cloud felt "unreal".

From BBC • Mar. 26, 2026

Those glimpses of humanity had a way of rendering the mercenary atmosphere in the tent city incredibly disorienting—almost unreal.

From Slate • Feb. 23, 2026

“The atmosphere over race weekend in the city is unreal, and there’s something about it being the first race of the season which makes the vibes even better,” Lawson said.

From The Wall Street Journal • Feb. 19, 2026

"The pressure of the Olympics really gets you... it's unreal," an emotional Malinin told journalists afterwards.

From Barron's • Feb. 14, 2026

The room looked unreal again in the false yellow light.

From "Rebecca" by Daphne du Maurier

Related Words

• dreamlike
• false
• fanciful
• hallucinatory
• illusory
• immaterial
• unbelievable