surreal

[suh-ree-uhl, -reel]

adjective

1. of, relating to, or characteristic of surrealism, an artistic and literary style; surrealistic.

2. having the disorienting, hallucinatory quality of a dream; unreal; fantastic.

   surreal complexities of the bureaucracy.

Other Word Forms

• surreally adverb
• surreality noun

Word History and Origins

Origin of surreal¹

First recorded in 1935–40; back formation from surrealism ( def. ); sur- ¹ ( def. ), real ¹ ( def. )

Example Sentences

Is Elon Musk’s newly approved $1 trillion pay package yet more evidence that the stock market is in the midst of a dangerous, even surreal, mania?

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It was just another surreal moment in a surreal week.

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It will be a surreal scene for all inside the ground, none more so than O'Neill himself.

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O'Neill's reappearance - as surreal as it is - can be parked because the biggest Wow! moment was the brutal way Desmond wrote of Rodgers.

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"As we left the scene, the tide had already begun to fill the gulley - a surreal reminder of just how close this call was," they added.

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