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

Still, there is something disturbingly surreal about this moment.

From Salon

McKinney said she was safe but described the situation as surreal after her hotel was evacuated and she and the other guests were moved to a basement early on Sunday.

From BBC

Opalite is a surreal 1980s-inspired video which tells the story of a lonely woman who uses a magical spray to improve her life and find romance with a fellow loner - played by Gleeson.

From BBC

These quiet compositions are both minimal and surreal, as the edge of a roaring fire is rendered in a delicate line, or a multicolored shrimp floats in the middle of a vacant plane.

From The Wall Street Journal

As videos of an injured Baghsarian circled online, his family described their ordeal as a surreal nightmare.

From BBC