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.
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
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
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.
As videos of an injured Baghsarian circled online, his family described their ordeal as a surreal nightmare.
From BBC
The show, then and now, combines a sentimental, satirical, soapy, sometimes surreal comedy with a straightforward medical show.
From Los Angeles Times
To see these practices now going viral feels surreal.
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.
