surreal

adjective

sur·re·al | \ sə-ˈrē(-ə)l also -ˈrā-əl

Definition of surreal

1 : marked by the intense irrational reality of a dream also : unbelievable, fantastic surreal sums of money

2 : surrealistic

Other Words from surreal Did You Know? More Example Sentences Learn More about surreal

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Did You Know?

In 1924 a group of European poets, painters, and filmmakers founded a movement that they called Surrealism. Their central idea was that the unconscious mind (a concept Sigmund Freud had recently made famous) was the source of all imagination, and that art should try to express its contents. The unconscious, they believed, revealed itself most clearly in dreams. The Surrealist painters included René Magritte, Joan Miró, and Salvador Dalí, whose "limp watches" painting became the best-known Surrealist image of all. Since those years, we've used surreal to describe all kinds of situations that strike us as dreamlike. And even though the Surrealist movement ended long ago, surrealism now seems to be everywhere—not just in painting, literature, and movies but also in blogs, video games, and graphic novels.

Examples of surreal in a Sentence

Despite all the hassle, though, I would not want an ordinary name. I know of one other person in the world who shares my name, first and last. I know nothing about her except that she lived in New York at the same time I did, and that she and I subscribed to a few of the same publications. I found myself in the surreal position of having to explain to circulation departments that I was, in fact, me, and not that other version of me on the West Side. — Johnna Kaplan, Newsweek, 3 Mar. 2008 Films aren't just a part of life for people in India; they are a way of life. The over-the-top, surreal dance numbers in nearly every Bollywood film often make no sense in relation to the story, but no one seems to be complaining. — Shashank Samant, The Out Traveler, May/June 2005 The movie achieves a truly rare mix of the absurd, the surreal, and the heartfelt. Improbably, its wacked-out premise and structural hilarity concoct a melancholy meditation on love, loss, and memory, while delivering a message—subversive to our culture's therapeutic optimism—about the tragedy of healing. — Rand Richards Cooper, Commonweal, 23 Apr. 2004 The whole thing was completely surreal.

Recent Examples on the Web

Every piece contains a story, a reflection on costume history, and a nod to the surreal. — Vogue, "19 FIT, Pratt, and Parsons 2019 Graduates on Their Collections and the Future of Fashion," 22 May 2019 The events of his breakthrough years are heightened with fantasy sequences that amount to a swirling, semi-surreal remix of his career and inner life. — Joe Morgenstern, WSJ, "‘Rocketman’ Review: Elton John Biopic Blasts Off," 20 May 2019 Tuca & Bertie, a new animated show on Netflix about a pair of BFFs who just happen to be birds, is a lot of things: adorable, affecting, emotional, sweet, surreal, quirky, funny, raunchy, charming. — Elizabeth Logan, Glamour, "Tuca & Bertie Is an Animated Show About Women, Made by Women—Finally," 8 May 2019 Most Read Sports Stories Since then, the Mariners have surged past surreal and moved straight into the land of Looney Tunes. — Larry Stone, The Seattle Times, "Historic or hysterical? Mariners’ magical start borders on the absurd, but oh what fun it is," 12 Apr. 2019 And sometimes, these rooms were the site of surreal encounters. — Daniel Miller, latimes.com, "Five Picassos went missing from the L.A. Times. What happened to them?," 12 July 2018 On a personal note for the Board President, the swearing in event was a bit surreal after decades in education that also included being the Euclid City Schools assistant superintendent. — John Benson, cleveland.com, "Parma City Schools swears in three new Board of Education members," 8 Jan. 2018 Afterward, Dudley said the ceremony was a little surreal. — Mikaela Porter, courant.com, "Six Inmates From Enfield Prison Graduate With Honors From Asnuntuck Community College," 4 June 2018 When their first championship was still a bit surreal. — Ann Killion, San Francisco Chronicle, "When things get tense for Warriors, Stephen Curry and Klay Thompson come through," 26 May 2018

These example sentences are selected automatically from various online news sources to reflect current usage of the word 'surreal.' Views expressed in the examples do not represent the opinion of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.