unreal

American  

[uhn-ree-uhl, -reel] / ʌnˈri əl, -ˈril /

adjective

1. not real reis or actual.

2. imaginary; fanciful; illusory; delusory; fantastic.

3. lacking in truth; not genuine; false; artificial.

   unreal propaganda serving as news.

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unreal British  

/ ʌnˈrɪəl /

adjective

1. imaginary or fanciful or seemingly so

   an unreal situation

2. having no actual existence or substance

3. insincere or artificial

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Other Word Forms

• unreally adverb

Etymology

Origin of unreal

First recorded in 1595–1605; un- ¹ + real ¹

Example Sentences

But the characters are expressive, and the medium is used to unreal ends, which is, after all, what cartoons are good for.

From Los Angeles Times

“The atmosphere over race weekend in the city is unreal, and there’s something about it being the first race of the season which makes the vibes even better,” Lawson said.

From The Wall Street Journal

"The pressure of the Olympics really gets you... it's unreal," an emotional Malinin told journalists afterwards.

From Barron's

"I played here as a boy and you would walk around the courts thinking 'this is unreal'. But you would never have imagined what has happened since," he told BBC Sport.

From BBC

I had to dissect that because it was kind of unreal.

From Los Angeles Times

Related Words

• dreamlike
• false
• fanciful
• hallucinatory
• illusory
• immaterial
• unbelievable