as in irrational
very strange or unusual; having the quality of a dream
a surreal atmosphere at the festival The whole situation was completely surreal.
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Recent Examples of surreal
Inspired by a napkin sketch from his early days, the film brings a surreal world to life—one that Bennett says reflects the unfiltered energy of his creative journey.
—
Bryanna Symone, Essence, 10 July 2025
Shaped like a human heart and engineered to actually beat, the Schiaparelli necklace created a dramatic and surreal effect on the runway, where it was showcased by a model wearing a backward red dress.
—Renan Botelho, Footwear News, 8 July 2025
But its recurring theme — Ed as a jealous interloper undermining owner Wilbur Post’s domestic life — can be read as a surreal meditation on masculinity, autonomy and repression in suburban America.
—Chris Reed, San Diego Union-Tribune, 6 July 2025
Exhibition celebrates the magical, surreal and fantasy works of more than a dozen artists.
—Luann Gibbs, The Enquirer, 2 July 2025
See All Example Sentences for surreal
Bryanna Symone, Essence, 10 July 2025
Shaped like a human heart and engineered to actually beat, the Schiaparelli necklace created a dramatic and surreal effect on the runway, where it was showcased by a model wearing a backward red dress.
—Renan Botelho, Footwear News, 8 July 2025
But its recurring theme — Ed as a jealous interloper undermining owner Wilbur Post’s domestic life — can be read as a surreal meditation on masculinity, autonomy and repression in suburban America.
—Chris Reed, San Diego Union-Tribune, 6 July 2025
Exhibition celebrates the magical, surreal and fantasy works of more than a dozen artists.
—Luann Gibbs, The Enquirer, 2 July 2025
See All Example Sentences for surreal
Recent Examples of Synonyms for surreal
Adjective
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In the case of mania, a mental health symptom where patients experience irrational self-belief and happiness, models responded correctly 80% of the time.—
PC Magazine,
PC Magazine,
13 July 2025
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This tracks with an observation made by the journalist David Epstein, who writes in Range: Why Generalists Triumph in a Specialized World that athletes from tiny towns have irrational levels of success.—
Henry Abbott,
The Atlantic,
12 July 2025
Adjective
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And that’s exactly the kind of weird the planet needs.—
Heather Wishart-Smith,
Forbes.com,
21 July 2025
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Though country rock at their core, Roadhouse Band songs are flush with woodwinds and pedal steel, weird horns and synthesizers.—
Jon Blistein,
Rolling Stone,
21 July 2025
Adjective
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Whether by design or chance, the selflessness helped compensate for a strange approach that impacted his singing for roughly half the show.—
Bob Gendron,
Chicago Tribune,
20 July 2025
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His disjointed, dissonant rhythms were his attempt to accompany the chaos — like providing a real-time soundtrack to a strange silent movie.—
David Kushner,
Rolling Stone,
20 July 2025
Adjective
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His exact demands are unknown but given his status as one of the world’s leading players a range of £250,000 to £300,000 a week is far from unreasonable.—
Chris Weatherspoon,
New York Times,
25 July 2025
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Barbara Attard, a police accountability expert, said meet and confer can last months, but beyond a year is unreasonable.—
Kelly Davis,
San Diego Union-Tribune,
25 July 2025
Adjective
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From the vantage point of 2025, this appears as absurd as suggesting that women’s soccer matches should be 70 minutes instead of 90, the same as in the men’s game.—
Charlie Eccleshare,
New York Times,
12 July 2025
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The French super powerhouse has taken teams part since winning the UEFA Champions League crown on May 24, outscoring its foes by an absurd 21-1 margin.—
Michael Lewis,
Forbes.com,
12 July 2025
Adjective
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Their target area was unusual, though: a strip of lawn between the road and a fence bordering Interstate 65, where homeless people have set up about two dozen tents over the first half of this year.—
Jordan Smith,
IndyStar,
26 July 2025
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Summer storms cause travel headaches every year, but these numbers are not unusual.—
Zach Wichter,
USA Today,
26 July 2025
Adjective
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According to Tom's Hardware, that drive also had the ability to automatically overwrite the contents of your storage with meaningless code so your original data couldn't be retrieved.—
Abhimanyu Ghoshal,
New Atlas,
15 July 2025
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At the same time, begin to appreciate moments of meaningless time.—
Mark Travers,
Forbes.com,
11 July 2025
Cite this Entry
“Surreal.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/surreal. Accessed 29 Jul. 2025.
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