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 surreal prospect of U.S. and European allies shooting at each other on Greenland sent stock and bond markets sliding, arousing fears that European investors in U.S. government debt could back away.

From The Wall Street Journal

The writer of Hamnet has described her Oscar nomination for the film's screenplay as "very surreal".

From BBC

Where to watch: In theaters Nominated for: Costume design, visual effects What we said: “Viewed in ultra-crisp high frame rate, ‘Fire and Ash’ feels so overwhelmingly real that it circles back around to surreal.”

From Los Angeles Times

Manatees weren’t dangerous, but seeing this one here, now, in the pool on the roof of a building, was totally surreal.

From Literature

“To be here it’s surreal,” said linebacker Isaiah Jones, a Hoosier since 2022.

From The Wall Street Journal