hyperreality

British

/ ˌhaɪpərɪˈælɪtɪ /

noun

an image or simulation, or an aggregate of images and simulations, that either distorts the reality it purports to depict or does not in fact depict anything with a real existence at all, but which nonetheless comes to constitute reality

"Collins English Dictionary — Complete & Unabridged" 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

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.

This would, perhaps, be more effective if Pepsi made the bold case that Diet Pepsi is better than Diet Coke, but even in the hyperreality of the Super Bowl commercial slate, one can only bend the truth so far.

From Slate

The setting and its accoutrements couldn’t be more more richly luxurious, but Kravitz presents this world with a sickening, unsettling hyperreality.

From Los Angeles Times

The virtual world of the internet – with its own sets of cultural norms, language and memes – is the epitome of hyperreality.

From Salon

Cultural theorist Mark Fisher, in his 2009 book "Capitalist Realism," describes this moment in history as one in which "hyperreality" prevails.

From Salon

In his book "Simulacra and Simulation," Baudrillard uses the example of Disneyland to describe hyperreality.

From Salon

Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023