surreal
Americanadjective
-
of, relating to, or characteristic of surrealism, an artistic and literary style; surrealistic.
-
having the disorienting, hallucinatory quality of a dream; unreal; fantastic.
surreal complexities of the bureaucracy.
adjective
noun
Other Word Forms
Etymology
Origin of surreal
First recorded in 1935–40; back formation from surrealism ( def. ); see sur- 1 ( def. ), real 1 ( def. )
Explanation
If you see a goldfish fly out of a melting clock and offer you tango lessons, you’re having a surreal experience! Either that or you’re asleep and dreaming. Things that are surreal combine unrelated elements to create a bizarre scene. The adjective surreal comes from Surrealism, a movement that produced films, writing, painting, and other art forms that often contained irrational, disjointed images. So, surreal describes something that’s a bizarre mix of elements, often jarring and seemingly nonsensical. Images can be surreal, like the melting clocks in Salvador Dali's paintings, but so can strange, dream-like moments in everyday life.
Vocabulary lists containing surreal
Vocabulary from the Introduction to "Reality is Broken" by Jane McGonigal
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Grade 9, List 5
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The Things They Carried
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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.
"I wasn't sure I hadn't just dreamt the whole thing, it felt so surreal I couldn't believe it myself," said Roper, who admitted his new home was "quite the upgrade" from his current bungalow.
From BBC ● Jul. 11, 2026
So she was jubilant when she and the surreal sci-series on Apple TV scored 18 nominations, the most for a first-year drama.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 8, 2026
Following an ex-secret agent who is kidnapped by an unknown persecutor, Patrick McGoohan’s 1967 series creates a surreal atmosphere of surveillance that remains relevant today.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jun. 30, 2026
It’s a cruel quirk of fate, or maybe just a tragic irony, that we are celebrating America’s semiquincentennial during one of the most surreal periods in American history.
From Salon ● Jun. 30, 2026
It is surreal to be here on the field instead of watching enviously from the stands.
From "An Ember in the Ashes" by Sabaa Tahir
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.
