Dictionary.com
Thesaurus.com
Synonyms

unreality

American  
[uhn-ree-al-i-tee] / ˌʌn riˈæl ɪ ti /

noun

plural

unrealities

  1. lack of reality; quality of being unreal.

    the unreality of dreams.

  2. something that is unreal, invalid, imaginary, or illusory.

    She appeared to be living in a world of unrealities.

  3. incompetence or impracticality, especially in everyday matters.

unreality British  
/ ˌʌnrɪˈælɪtɪ /

noun

  1. the quality or state of being unreal, fanciful, or impractical

  2. something that is unreal

"Collins English Dictionary — Complete & Unabridged" 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Etymology

Origin of unreality

First recorded in 1745–55; un- 1 + reality

Example Sentences

Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.

The High Court ultimately described some of his submissions as having a "distinct air of unreality".

From BBC • May 24, 2025

Herbert Simon said, "If you go down this path you're basing all of economics on the principle of unreality."

From Salon • Feb. 1, 2025

It sticks with us because of how vividly it captured the hysterical unreality of living in a turbulent age, and how it picked at the scabs crusting over the face of the American dream.

From Slate • Oct. 29, 2024

But there is a seduction to the unreality of these images, too.

From New York Times • Feb. 4, 2024

Like Lord Nugent, George Papadimitriou had experienced the sense of strangeness and unreality that the flood produced.

From "The Book of Dust: La Belle Sauvage" by Philip Pullman

Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023

Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.