surreal

American  

[suh-ree-uhl, -reel] / səˈri əl, -ˈril /

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.

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Other Word Forms

• surreality noun
• surreally adverb

Etymology

Origin of surreal

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

Example Sentences

The current “Comeback” storyline is the brighter side of the “AI Doc” coin in that Al’s glitches are surreal and hilarious at worst.

From Salon

On the day of the verdict, Natalie's dad said there was an "outpouring of emotions" waiting for the result to come through, adding that it was "surreal".

From BBC

Each step of this increasingly surreal tale dramatizes—that is, gives form to—an act of vanishing.

From The Wall Street Journal

"To see all our names credited under the photographs is a very proud moment. It's like a faraway dream - something you would never have thought would happen. It's just surreal."

From BBC

The family flew back to Charlotte and DeCarlo went back to work at Home Depot, living with the surreal feeling of what he had been through.

From The Wall Street Journal